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Is Your Brand Bland? Time to Plan!

What exactly is ‘Branding’?

To be honest, there are many definitions of what branding is.  Let’s go with explanation given by Gini  Dietrich of Spin Sucks:

“Branding, to me, is the identity of a product or service. It’s the name, the logo, the design, or a combination of those that people use to identify, and differentiate, what they’re about to buy. A good brand should deliver a clear message, provide credibility, connect with customers emotionally, motivate the buyer, and create user loyalty.”

A successful brand should be a mirror image of yourself or your business. It should be authentic, transparent, and trustworthy. It is a promise to your clients or customers, it’s what makes you stand out from the competition. It can be defined and communicated visually, verbally, and audibly and all of these pieces when put together properly (Think: logo, tagline or jingle) will create a clear picture of what you or your business are trying to convey to your target audience.

So you’ve written your mission statement, showcased your products and services, and have started to get feedback from your customers.  So how do you spread the word like wildfire to the masses?  

Here’s a quick branding check list from an article by John Williams:

  • Get a great logo. Place it everywhere.
  • Write down your brand messaging. What are the key messages you want to communicate about your brand? Every employee should be aware of your brand attributes.
  • Integrate your brand. Branding extends to every aspect of your business–how you answer your phones, what you or your salespeople wear on sales calls, your e-mail signature, everything.
  • Create a “voice” for your company that reflects your brand. This voice should be applied to all written communication and incorporated in the visual imagery of all materials, online and off. Is your brand friendly? Be conversational. Is it ritzy? Be more formal. You get the gist.
  • Develop a tagline. Write a memorable, meaningful and concise statement that captures the essence of your brand.
  • Design templates and create brand standards for your marketing materials. Use the same color scheme, logo placement, look and feel throughout. You don’t need to be fancy, just consistent.
  • Be true to your brand. Customers won’t return to you–or refer you to someone else–if you don’t deliver on your brand promise.
  • Be consistent. I placed this point last only because it involves all of the above and is the most important tip I can give you. If you can’t do this, your attempts at establishing a brand will fail.

 

Once you start to define your brand, build it by connecting with your customers. Respond to your customers personally whether via phone, email or social media. Being accessible goes along way and that type of personalization shows customers you’re real and you care.  In an era of voice automation and auto responders being available and accessible when it counts will only serve to strengthen your brand.


sources:


http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/250113

http://heidicohen.com/30-branding-definitions/

http://www.entrepreneur.com/topic/branding