How Your Company DNA Can Differentiate Your Brand & Business

How Your Company DNA Can Differentiate Your Brand & Business

DNA analysis is all the rage as people seek to learn more about who they are and where they came from.

Businesses have a form of DNA, too: The passion that led the founders to create the business, the dream that became a reality, the seed that blossomed into a thriving enterprise.

Understanding your company’s DNA and telling this story in marketing can be a powerful way to differentiate your business and brand.

Here’s how and why to use your company’s DNA in a smart marketing strategy.

The Marketing Power of a Company’s DNA: 4 Key Advantages

Many legendary companies began when someone turned an innovative idea into a business. Iconic brands like Ford, Disney, and HP have made their origins part of their identity and market positioning.

Showcasing your company’s DNA in branding and marketing can give you critical competitive advantages, even if you’re not a FORTUNE® 500 company:

1. Differentiation: Just like an individual, the DNA of your business makes you unique. Only your enterprise has these characteristics, a crucial point of distinction in a competitive marketplace.
2. Memorability: Amid the din of constant messaging, stories stand out. An interesting story about your founding helps people remember your business and why it was created.
3. Relatability: Sharing the human side of how your business began – what the founders believed, the challenges they faced, the obstacles they overcame to achieve success – makes your organization more approachable and relatable.
4. Passion: Holding fast to your company’s original principles – and hiring and training people who understand and believe in this mission – produces passion your customers will feel when they interact with your team.

5 Questions for Using Your Company DNA in Marketing

Here’s what you need to know to use your company DNA effectively in your branding and marketing strategy:

1. What is the company DNA? Evaluate the origins to understand what led to the creation of the business, then assess how the business operates today. Identify the principles or beliefs held by the founders that still drive the business.
2. How does your DNA set your business apart? Once you’ve pinpointed the elements of your DNA, determine how this makes your organization different from competitors.
3. How does your team live your DNA on a daily basis? When your staff knows who you are and what you believe as a business (what you’ve always believed), it drives daily decision-making. Understand how your DNA is applied across the enterprise.
4. What impact does your DNA have on customers? When your DNA is core to your operation, your customers will experience it when they do business with you. Knowing the tangible ways your DNA benefits your customers is key to positioning and messaging.
5. How do you communicate your DNA? Your DNA can be crucial to your brand identity. Anywhere and everywhere you describe or promote your business is an opportunity to share that brand story. Develop key messages about your company DNA and use them consistently in all your marketing channels.

Our Cleveland marketing consulting firm has helped many organizations develop effective branding strategies. Contact us if we can help you.