I want to suggest to you that the process of branding for your business is only complete when you have the following five key elements in place:
- Brand position
- Brand promise
- Brand personality
- Brand Story
- Brand associations
For you to create a successful brand for your business, that is one that is well defined and relevant to your market, you will need more than a logo and catchy tagline. If you focus your newfound obsession with the brand into these five areas you’ll be giving yourself a significant advantage.
You will also have to build the discipline of consistency into every action you take. Incorporating your brand identity into every aspect of your business. In this way, you will be able to create a successful brand strategy. Let us take a look at this in a little more detail. Of course, to really get under the skin of this subject you should join us on the Accelerate program.
Brand Position
This is the part of your branding where you describe what you do and who you do it for. Please do not forget what we have talked about previously and remember do not focus on the ‘What’. In fact, start with the ‘Why’. Include here also what your unique values are and what is it that differentiates you (your ‘How’). Explain what your market can gain from aligning to your brand and using your ‘What.’
many call this your brand position. Once you have all this you need to tell the outside world, in short, compelling and motivating statements. I personally think it’s a good idea to have a short, medium and long version for use in different circumstances and with different media.
Brand Promise
Your brand promise, like your core values, is something that you promise and then need to deliver all of the time. Some might even say it is the single most important thing that you promise in the name of your brand. To help you to understand what this promise should look like you need to be thinking in terms of what it is that your own team, your customers, and others that work with you, expect from you in each and every transaction.
Once established you then need to ensure that each move, each action you take is weighted against this important brand promise. Each move needs to be justified against it and at the very least those moves must not directly contradict that brand promise. my own personal example is based around the promise that the Rainmakers Brand makes in all its transactions to its members, regardless of their level of membership or how invested, they are in our programs. The promise, the short version is simply that we offer unlimited support and advice. This is at the epicentre of our business and our brand and it is what we are judged against.
“The more seriously you take and demonstrate your brand promise, the more seriously the outside world will trust and champion your cause.”