Brand Building 101

Building your brand into a brand leader isn't easy. There are 2 areas that can really help you grow your brand, passion and consistency. Passion is incredibly important. You have to understand that even if you are a start up or a one-man operation, or are well on your way, you are still a brand. You have to care passionately about the way your brand is nurtured, developed and presented to your target audience. Everything that leaves your building, every impression that your staff and your company make, is lasting. Take advantage of this opportunity to get your customers and potential customers to remember you in the way that you want them too!

Passion is something that you have to feel deep down inside; you have to be driven by the belief that your brand should be the #1 in its category. I can't give you the passion, but I will ask you to think about this! For example, one of the greatest investors of all time is Warren Buffet. Mr. Buffet invests only in brands, or products that he really understands. He once wrote in one of his annual reports "A brand is like a moat around your business". This point is significant! A brand can protect you against competitive attacks, it can protect you from market fluctuations, it can protect you from having to get into a price war, and it can protect your premium price positioning. When all things are equal, consumers will usually buy the brand leader!

Consistency is probably the easiest part of the marketing communications to control, but frankly most companies fail in this area. What you should do is ensure that everything that comes out of your company looks like it should. Every piece of communication should be part of a "look" that you have agreed on. I really do not care what it is; it should always look like it's part of a family, part of an ongoing series of communications. There should be no difference. If it's a letter, they should all look the same. No different typefaces, different margins etc. This is an area that should not be a request in your company; it should be a mandate.

To measure how strong your brand is copy and paste: (http://brandidentityguru.com/bightml/brandmasterpiece.html). Then click "Take the brand strength test". This is a short survey that measures the strength of any company's brand. It's a great tool to see where you are today.

Scott White is President of Brand Identity Guru (http://www.brandidentityguru.com), a leading brand consulting and market research firm located in Easton, Massachusetts, USA, near Boston.

Brand Identity Guru specializes in creating corporate and product brands that increase sales, market share, customer loyalty, and brand valuation. Over the course of his 15-year branding career, Scott White has worked in a wide variety of industries: high-tech, manufacturing, computer hardware and software, telecommunications, banking, restaurants, fashion, healthcare, Internet, retail, and service businesses, as well as numerous non-profit organizations.

Brand Identity Guru clients include: Sun Life Financial, Coca Cola, HP, Sun, Nordstrom, American Federal Mortgage, Simon (America's largest shopping mall manager) and many others, including numerous emerging growth companies.

Scott White is a very enthusiastic speaker and has the gift of being able to explain the principles of branding in a compelling and entertaining manner so that people at all levels can understand.

More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More Branding Information:

Related Articles

Naming Names... How to Name your Business
Sometimes the best inspiration comes from hearing about the deconstruction of other company's names. For you, I am happy to share how I came up with "Slice A Day :: your slice on marketing".
Intelligent Design comes from Brand & Account Planners
I've been reminded recently, rather forcefully, that not all reality hackers are anti-neoconservatives. Bush endorses teaching 'intelligent design'.
Revealing the Roots: The Process of Building Brand
How is branding different than marketing?Branding is not so much different from marketing as it is an element of marketing. We think of marketing as a tree; the brand is the roots, holding the tree in place and providing constant energy.
Trademark Issues in the Mobil Auto Business
There have always been trademark issues and lawsuits in the mobile auto service business. I know this because I own several such businesses.
Go Ask Alice
One of fiction's finest marketing minds, The Cheshire Cat,once told Alice in Wonderland something all business ownersand marketers should remember:"If you don't care where you are going, it doesn't make adifference which path you take."For businesses bent upon success, it does matter which pathyou take.
Are You Brand Worthy?
Branding is one hot topic, although it is wildly misunderstood. To make things even more confusing, branding is often tossed in the same basket as marketing which makes its application to an entrepreneur or sole-practioner even more unclear.
Brand Warfare is More of a War than You Think
We will discuss Brand Marketing for a minute. In this discussion we would like to talk about brand line extension and how to do it correctly.
Clouds Gather Before A Storm: Utilizing The Power Of Brand
How brand management can help utility organisations to create a 'difference'.Ever thought why are many consumers willing to pay more for a trusted name brand instead of a store brand, which often is the very same product with a different label and higher price tag? Reputation.
Differentiate and Dominate
Quite often small business owners will ask me to reveal the most powerful marketing strategy I have seen. I can say without hesitation that the most powerful marketing strategy has little to do with advertising, direct mail, web sites, referrals or blogs.
Brand Your Name!
Have you ever thought about branding your name? Does the idea sound too egotistical for you or does it make good business sense? Let's examine personal name branding and how it can help you achieve the recognition you need for your business and put you quickly on the path to success!Promptly upon receiving my layoff notice from my position of nearly eleven years, I decided I needed to venture out on my own. I formed a limited liability company and named the concern after my name.
Brand Strategy - Brand Value - Brand Identity Guru
Developing brand strategy is extremely critical. The most important asset your company has is its brand.
Branding Fiasco -- Better Be Who You Say You Are!
Our experience as customers offers great instruction into the concept of branding. Come with me on a recent "experience" and you'll see what I mean.
Brand Building For Profit: The Colour Behind the Brand and Why I Wear Red Ties!
Colour is essential to building a strong brand.Many of you know my passion for wearing red ties.
The Big Uneasy: Clearing the Clouds of Guess
People often come to me to assist them with developing their brand because they are unable to accomplish the business success they desire. They're experiencing what we call the Big Uneasy--the state of being when things are hard.
How Will Your Visitors Remember You And Your Business? Brand Yourself From The Crowd...
Big and Yellow 'M' reminds you McDonalds..
How Much Is A Great Business Logo Really Worth?
A great logo can help a business project a positive image while a bad logo can bring a negative impression about a company. For many companies, a logo is the only identifiable mark a potential customer may ever see, so it needs to be memorable, descriptive and easily recognizable.
My First Year In Cyber Space
My first year as a Cyberpreneur was a steeplearning-curve. I was an academic beforestarting an online business, so I had a lot to learn.
Positioning and Branding - Brand Identity Guru
Where is your brand positioned in the marketplace? How is it perceived, both positively and negatively? Can you identify your brand's core strength's and equities? What are the barriers or threats standing in the way? A brand strategy company will provide you with an objective assessment of your brand.They can deliver specific solutions that will allow you to reach your strategic business goals and objectives, and clearly differentiate your brand and identity in the marketplace.
Standing Under the Umbrella And Still Getting Wet
Make More Money Making a Name for YourselfCalling all realtors, financial planners, insurance brokers, multi-level & network marketers, and anyone else who works in the precarious and often misunderstood position of operating under a large company brand umbrella yet operating as a separate business unto itself. You may find that you're standing under the umbrella and you're still getting wet-- not enjoying the unlimited personal and financial rewards that business opportunity offers.
Effective Public Relations Essential for Personal Branding
Move over pop star "Posh Spice" Adams and English soccer hero David Beckham, the personal branding power of newly engaged Australian celebrity sports couple Lleyton Hewitt and Rebecca Cartwright could be worth up to $100 million dollars.In terms of public relations and effective public relations, their media performance this week in both print and television proves they have the potential to become a truly global brand and rival Posh and Becks on the world stage.