Your brand is your promise! It is the very staple of your image and business. It’s important to position your brand properly in its market space. It’s even more important to ensure your brand stand for the purpose of your business. Brand development needs to be creative. Your brand needs to be consistent, recognizable, and memorable. Let’s face it, you’re in business to gain more business. Whether your brand is your business or it’s your personal brand, as in your image, your brand needs to be in the right position. Brand positioning is defined as the conceptual place you want to own in the target consumer’s mind — the benefits you want them to think of when they think of your brand. I partner with my clients to increase brand awareness, improve their customer experiences, increase sales and productivity, and most importantly, create brand believers. We constantly explore new disciplines and evolve existing ones to meet our clients’ needs. If your brand, image or logo isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when a consumer here’s your name, you’re not recognizable. We will work together to create whatever it takes to make your brand relevant. This includes but not limited to:
- BRAND STRATEGY
- BRAND IDENTITY
- PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
- WEBSITE DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT
- MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS
Understanding Branding
Branding, by definition, is a marketing practice in which a company creates a name, symbol or design that is easily identifiable as belonging to the company.
Why Is Branding Important
Branding is one of the most important aspects of any business, large or small, retail or B2B. An effective brand strategy gives you a major edge in increasingly competitive markets.
- Brand Purpose –
The first step of any brand building activity to is define and understand your why. Why you choose to do what you do? Why do you exist? Why do you matter?
The best illustration of this is from Simon Sinek’s book and TED talk Start With Why – which I believe should be required reading and viewing for all leaders and entrepreneurs! He explains that the reason the most powerful brands in the world succeed (think Apple, Starbucks, Nike) is not because of what they do, or how they do it – but because of WHY they do what they do.
Starbucks is not in the business of selling coffee. They are in the business of delivering a third place between home and work – and creating the ultimate brand experience for its customers.
Your brand purpose is your rally cry. It’s a powerful force that can motivate your team and your customers to be a part of your bigger brand story.
- Brand Positioning-In this noisy business landscape, your number one goal is to stand out and set yourself apart from others in your niche. Well, your brand positioning is all about claiming that unique space in the minds of your target audience and the marketplace.When developing your overall positioning, there are 3 questions that you must answer to establish your point of differentiation and make your brand the ‘go-to choice’ instead of the alternative:What is the exact category that my brand is in? It’s important to understand what market you are looking to dominate, where the opportunities are, and if there are any gaps you can fill.Who is my “best” target audience? You cannot, and should not be all things to all people. That’s why you must narrow your target market down to your ideal customer” and really understand their specific needs and pain points.What really sets my brand apart relative to the competition? Every brand should look to deliver a unique story in the market. What is it about your brand that makes you the rock star of your industry? This is why also building your personal brand important. While there may be similar products/services in the marketplace – there is only one YOU.Once you can clearly answer these questions, then you’re much closer to setting your brand up for positional power.
- Brand Personality– In determining the tone of your communications, marketing and design moving forward, it is a good start to know what your brand personality is – are you traditional and corporate, cheeky and irreverent, warm but professional. A well used branding question to get you thinking about your personality is: “If your business was an animal, what type of animal would you be and why?”. Seems a bit crazy, but it’s excellent for making you think about your business from a different angle.
- Consistency in Branding–
The key to consistency is to avoid talking about things that don’t relate to or enhance your brand. Added a new photo to your business’ Facebook Page? What does it mean for your company? Does it align with your message, or was it just something funny that would, quite frankly, confuse your audience?
In an effort to give your brand a platform to stand on, you need to be sure that all of your messaging is cohesive. Ultimately, consistency contributes to brand recognition, which fuels customer loyalty. (No pressure, right?)
To see a great example of consistency, let’s look at Coca-Cola. As a result of its commitment to consistency, every element of the brand’s marketing works harmoniously together. This has helped it become one of the most recognizable brands in the world.
Even on the surface of its social media accounts, for example, the seamlessness of its brand is very apparent:
- Visionary Leadership in Branding-Your brand’s vision is key for underpinning all your brand and marketing strategy moving forward. It is the cornerstone of your brand identity and brand building. It should be a clear articulation of what you want the brand to stand for in the eyes of the customers and employees. A strong brand vision will echo and support the business strategy. Many largely successful brands have had the benefit of being led by leaders who had a vision. These leaders have led their brand from the top, have been the brand’s chief ambassador, understood the strategic importance of branding and nurtured the brand as a child. Not many local brands have had this critical success factor to boost their equity. This begs another obvious question – what is the role of the CEO in branding and why should branding be treated so carefully?
The Team
My team of brand curators are from diverse professional backgrounds. This grants us perspective and insight into various industries. We have a core strategic unit who have experience ranging from being veterans of advertising, to media and celebrity management consultants, to banking and finance professionals..