Building Your Brand
Written on January 2, 2008
So your organisation has a logo, a website, business cards, and brochures. But does this necessarily mean that your company has a brand?
Of course not. Branding is not simply logo creation: your brand is everything that your potential audience sees, feels and touches about you and your business. It covers everything from your logo and your positioning statement (or strap line), through to the colours that you use in your corporate palette, the tone of voice in written communications and even the way in which your staff present themselves.
In today’s business world it isn’t just about how good you are, but about how good people think you are. Ultimately there are a few choice reasons why people will choose to do business with you:
- Because they know you (45% of all business is done as a result of personal recommendation)
- Because of your reputation
- Because they understand that you add value
Developing your brand will encourage positive opinion about your company, especially within the latter two categories and building a strong, positive brand will ultimately encourage more people to do business with you.
The rise of new media has also changed the way in which businesses can communicate their brand. Competition is wider, but these new developments have meant that there are also huge benefits to be had. Smaller businesses can now compete more credibly with much larger rivals due to the ability to project a brand easier using the internet. This means a great opportunity if you are a smaller business whilst larger companies will have to focus on working even harder to stay ahead of the competition.
So how do you go about building your brand? First you need to analyse whether your organization has a strong brand already – and whether this brand is working. In order to make this evaluation you should consider whether your company makes a strong impression to potential customers. Question whether it is easy for them to assess, what it is that makes you unique.
To begin to build your brand make sure the messages you are sending out (whether through your logo, website etc) are succinct and focus on your USPs.
This will help get across your message simply to your customers – whether existing or potential.
All sound a bit cynical? As long as you’re honest about your company and consistent with your message you can’t go too far wrong. Customers will make a very quick judgment about you, your products and services so it is important that you project the right branding to ensure you get the success your company deserves!
Written by Pippa Adams [Managing Director] Prodo Ltd