Your brand is in essence a promise to your customer about what you will deliver to them. Branding tells customers who you are, who you want to be, and who people perceive you to be.<\/p>\n
Developing a solid branding strategy is essential, no matter the size of your business or the industry it is in. Branding creates a loyal customer base and differentiates you from your competitors.<\/p>\n
Before contemporary marketing came into play it was widely assumed that the term \u2018brand\u2019 was simply the non-generic word used to identify the source of a product. However, this definition has expanded and now includes various qualities and attributes.<\/p>\n
A brand is what your prospect or customer thinks of when they hear your brand name. This association can be factual (e.g. what the product looks like, or its features) and emotional (e.g. the emotions that people feel when using or seeing your product).<\/p>\n
A branding strategy is simply how, what, where, when and to whom you plan on communicating and delivering your brand messages. Such a strategy adds value to your products or services, and can even allow you to charge more than others in a similar field are able to.<\/p>\n
Before you can develop a branding strategy you need to know what your brand is. To do this there are a few questions you can ask yourself:<\/p>\n
*<\/strong> \u00a0What does your company specialise in?<\/p>\n *<\/strong> \u00a0What is the mission statement (or core purpose) of your company?<\/p>\n *<\/strong> \u00a0What is the tagline or message you want your customers to see and associate with your company?<\/p>\n *<\/strong> \u00a0What values do your products or services have? What values does your company possess?<\/p>\n *<\/strong> \u00a0Who is your target market? What kind of customers does your product and\/or services attract?<\/p>\n *<\/strong> \u00a0Is there something unique about your company or products that differentiates you from competitors?<\/p>\n *<\/strong> \u00a0How would your customers describe your company?<\/p>\n *<\/strong> \u00a0What is your company\u2019s promise to customers?<\/p>\n Once you have answered these questions (go in-depth and get employees as well as existing customers involved), you can create a character or personality for your company. What qualities does this personality have? What stands out about this personality? How would you describe this character \u2013 is it spontaneous, corporate, serious, creative, innovative?<\/p>\n Find out what the \u2018essence\u2019 of your company is. If Disneyland can be described as magical and Ferrari as luxurious, what would customers see your essence as being? Which emotions arise when a customer interacts with either your company or your products?<\/p>\nGet a great logo<\/h2>\n