What is a Brand?
People often think of a brand as its logo, but as important as that may be, your brand is everything that people experience and internalize at all touch points, from your ads to your invoicing, to the way you answer the phone, to their customer experience – and, of course – your product or service.
The more recognizable and compelling your brand, the greater the response to your marketing outreach and the higher your sales and margins.
Brand Essence
Brands live in your head: How you think and feel about a brand IS the brand!
“What you make people feel is just as important as what you make.”
BMW
The essence or heart of your brand is how people think and feel about it. It is not the name, logo, product or service. Get it right, get it strong, and it becomes the intangible, but perceived attribute that differentiates you from your competitors – that differentiates your business from the commodities at everyone’s fingertips.
Attributes of a Strong Brand
Effective branding defines, promises, and consistently delivers a unique brand experience that distinguishes you from your competitors and builds preference.
Effective branding intrigues prospects with the promise of your brand experience.
Effective branding promotes new business and retains customers.
Effective branding builds loyalty by delivering a series of consistent and positive brand experiences.
Key Qualities of Effective Branding
- Unique
- Focused – clear and easy to grasp
- Invokes an emotion within your target audience
- Experiential – “Riding a Harley makes me feel free.”
- Meaningful to your target audience
- Authentic – built on your true strengths and deliverables
- Unchanging – your product benefits, messaging, ads, etc. will change over time, but the essence of your brand is timeless
- Sustainable and consistent
- A barrier to competition
Next Steps: Create or Fine-Tune Your Brand
If your brand identity is already solid, great! Let’s leverage it to reach and engage the people that matter most – your target customers.
If you’re starting from scratch or looking for improvement, stay true to yourself and your vision. We’ll work with you to develop a brand identity that differentiates you from the competition, embodies your company’s value proposition and resonates with customers. Stand on a rock.
We’ve helped many clients discover and bring forward the hidden jewels within their brand.
Work with us to develop and strengthen your brand. Reach and engage the customers you really want. Find out how.
