Branding

Branding – what it means to your business.

Of all the tasks faced in running a successful business getting your organisation onto the ‘shopping list' of potential customers is one of the most crucial. In a world where consumers are faced by what seems to be an ever increasing number of choices, it's never been more important for businesses to make sure that potential and existing customers know what they stand for, what makes them different, what makes them stand out from the crowd. How companies communicate this, how they portray their brand and its values, has a real impact on their success.

So, what is a brand? In its simplest form it can be seen as nothing more than a label or logo. But if it's really that simple, why then, is it generally perceived that some labels are better than others!? It's because brands stand for something, they have a value. These values can be easily evident, intangible, or a mixture of the two, but whatever the scenario, they are critically important in differentiating a brand from its competitors. Pragmatically, they deliver a ‘promise' by authenticating a product or service, making a pledge of satisfaction and quality. Emotionally, they create a collection of perceptions in the mind of the consumer against which they will measure the experience of buying and using that product or service.

The most enduring, successful and profitable businesses are those that have clearly defined values that not only engage with their target audience, but which also manifest themselves at every point at which customers come into contact with the company. This is how McDonald's, Coca Cola, Amazon and Google have evolved to become some of the world's most successful brands. It's also instrumental in brands being able to leverage profitability - providing more perceived ‘value' often results in being able to charge a premium for it.

Branding is an essential tool in delivering company profitability. It helps differentiate a company's offering from its competitors, creates ‘stand out' and gets products and services onto the shopping list of potential customers. It can create real and perceived value that customers are prepared to pay more for (and keeps businesses away from being a ‘commodity' where the lowest common denominator is price and profit margins become increasingly eroded).

Three simple steps can help a business on the way to becoming a successful brand:

1. Determine the values of the business - those attributes that will most appeal to customers in making it stand out from the crowd.

2. Bring these values to life in every customer facing facet of the business. Remember that a brand is more than a name, label or logo. It is a promise that is the lifeblood of a business.

3. Create consistent, relevant and distinctive messages that bring the brand and its values to life giving it a strong ‘personality' that will differentiate it from competitors.