Diana Wolff, the President of LRG Marketing Communications, discusses whether security companies are actually, in fact, brands, and elaborates on the reasoning as to why this is the case in the modern world.
Are you a professional security company – or a brand?
It’s unlikely that most security professionals would consider the company they work for to be a brand. The very term “brand” makes us think of consumer products like sneakers and soda, and not software or surveillance.
Ours is a serious industry with the objective of protecting people, saving lives and preventing criminal activity. There is nothing frivolous about what we do, and so anything that describes us that way feels uncomfortable.
Well, get used to it, because to your customers and the prospects you wish to reach, you are a brand.
Your company name evokes opinions. Think about some big providers in our industry. Each stimulates some kind of mental/emotional reaction – you might think of them as top quality, or cutting edge technology, or a great employer. Or maybe you see them as overpriced or irrelevant. Chances are, you could describe any company in the industry with a few words.
The words most used to describe your company are your brand.
As marketers, we work hard to develop brands, to position them based on true attributes and to present them in the best light to the industry. As providers, you need to know that your brand image is a factor of more than just marketing – it is a combination of product quality, customer service, company culture and more.
A big part of what creates a brand is the way the company interacts with their community, and this is even more true for serious industries like ours. Being seen as a provider of true expertise and value, rather than just a shill for products, matters. This, more than a tag line or logo, is where marketing truly comes into play. A strategic marketing program for a company in the security industry helps shape the brand image by elevating the company in the eyes of their audience.
And that’s a brand you can be proud of.
Diana Wolff can be reached at [email protected]
