Brand Identity... serious homework.

Today I am trying to focus on creating a Brand Identity for Worthen’s Mercentile.  Etsy’s handbook has an entire very helpful article on this topic along with some excercises to help the budding shop owner.   

“But what is a brand? It’s the promise that a shop makes to its customers. Your brand tells your customers what they can expect from your products and what differentiates your products from your competitors’. Simply put, your brand is a combination of the image you are trying to project for your business, plus the associations and memories that your customers bring to the table when they encounter that image.”

I want Worthen’s to give people warm fuzzies.  I want them to feel like they are in a friendly small town store.  I want folks to feel like they can trust me to deliver only quality handmade goods and vintage finds, that what they see on the screen is exactly what they will get.  I want Worthen’s  Mercentile to give a cozy, rustic, whimsical, but sophisticated vibe.

 When people visit my shop I want them to be intrigued by the history of  Worthen’s.  When someone compliments them on one of their purchases I want them to tell a bit of the story and be excited about it.

My shop’s values:  Quality, honesty, originality, fun, history

bolt of raw linen from linen4life.net

Unique features & benefits:  I haven’t seen any other up-cycled quilts that use linen, there isn’t much linen on Etsy in general and that is one of my favorite materials to work with.  The story is unique too, Worthen’s has history behind it and I plan to take pictures of my goods in our physical store to give it more of the feel.

Target Market:  This is a tough one for me.  I’m currently guessing mostly women between the ages of 20-40, they are into the up-cycled movement, try to limit their possessions and put a lot of thought into their purchases.  They have a median income, probably are living in more of an urban and suburb

an setting.  I’m guessing they are single, or married with one or two kids… this is a hard question.  I’m going

 to have to read: www.makeryblog.com/2010/06/target-market-demographics To really nail my target down.

come on in, I'll be with you in a moment!
photo from:
http://www.zuhairah-homeinteriordesign.blogspot.com/

What do I want my customers to associate with my shop?  What are the emotional and somewhat intangible attributes that my customers can  experience and identify with?   I want people to associate my shop with comfort, good conversation, trust, class and down to earth sensibilities.   

Whew.  Clearly I have a lot to do to figure out who exactly I'm marketing to and an eloquent and articulate way to present my shop.  If anyone happens to read this entry and has suggestions for me please share.

On another note, my random project obsession for the day.  Antique Silverware.  On Saturday when I was at our secondhand store I happened to pass by the 6 bins with flatware in them.  I had my girls in them so I didn't dig too deep but now I have the itch to learn a little more about vintage patterns and do some more digging.