Recently, I spoke to a client who had been in business for over 10 years, about reviewing her strategy for the next few years, as she seemed to be lost in the detail of the day to day business. Sarah had lost her energy and enthusiasm for business and didn’t know what her purpose or whether she was winning or losing, and she was wondering why the heck she was in business at all.
I suggested a good starting point was with the core of her business, Branding.
Effective brands aren't built overnight. It takes time to develop an authentic, integrated, and memorable experience for your customers. And it's incredibly important to make this investment in your brand. It's a powerful driver for your marketing and crucial to the long-term success of your business.
Part of the reason businesses, large and small, struggle with branding is that they equate their brand with a logo.
They make the mistake of putting all their ‘branding eggs’ into the logo basket, investing a great deal of time and money trying to design the perfect icon. But if they don't build meaning beyond that little symbol, it falls flat. A well-designed visual identity can be an important part of your story, but it is just that: one part.
There's much more to building a strong brand than creating a logo.
How do you begin to build your brand?
The first step is to identify your unique brand or selling attributes or qualities. Start by developing a short list of words that accurately reflect who you are and what you do. Also, ask your employees to come up with a list. Do the words match? Ask your very best customers and/or clients to list your attributes. Is your image of the company in sync with your clients/customers' perception of your brand?
The next step, is to move beyond just a few words and try to capture the comprehensive feeling, character, or personality your brand conveys.
Each company creates a unique image and perception it wants to convey. And you can bet that all of their marketing activities, from PR, social marketing and website design to trade show booths and in-store displays, are also designed to reflect these brands they've worked so hard to build. And if not, they should be.
Business Tips
Branding: the Core of your Business
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- Parent Category: Business Tips
- Category: Marketing
