Branding

A brand is the perception that a consumer has when they hear or think of your company name, service or product. That being said the word “brand” or “branding” is a moving target and evolves with the behaviour of consumers. Think of it as the mental picture of who you as a company represents to consumers – it starts with a logo, and is influenced by the elements, words, and creativity that surround it.

Decades ago branding was defined as a name, slogan, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of these elements that identify products or services of a company. The brand was identified of the elements that differentiated the goods and or service from the competition.

Today brand is a bit more complex, but even more important in today’s world of marketing.

Branding is not only about getting your target market to select you over the competition but about getting your prospects to see you as the sole provider of a solution to their problem or need. Good branding not only increases the value of a company, but it provides employees with direction and motivation, and makes acquiring new customers easier.

The objectives that a good brand will achieve include:

• Clearly, delivers the message
• Confirms your credibility
• Emotionally connects your target prospects with your product and or service.
• Motivates the buyer to buy
• Creates User Loyalty

A Basic Checklist to Evaluate Your Brand

Branding can be confusing, so how do you know if your brand is strong enough to give you the internal and external value that you need in your marketing?

• Does your brand relate to your target audience?  Will they instantly “get it” without too much thought?
• Does your brand share the uniqueness of what you offer and why it’s important?
• Does it reflect the brand promise that you are making to who you are targeting as well as to your internal audience?
• Does your brand reflect the values that you want to represent as a customer?

Let these questions serve as a guideline in the development of your brand.  If the answers are not clear you may want to return to the drawing board and refine the branding process.  A brand should be an instant “ah-ha” it should require very little thought and contemplation.

Once the brand has an identity, all associated artwork and marketing follows exceptionally easy.