The most important message I can share with you in this program about brand is the simple and unavoidable fact that your brand is more about what people say about you than what you say about yourself. The acid test is what people say about you when you’re not in the room!
many people, when they first start out in business seem to focus on the simple tangible components. There is no doubt that they have their place, but in reality, are far less important in the beginning than you may be led to believe. I am talking about things like logo, colour, font etc. Don’t misunderstand me they are important but are second to some rather more important issues that I will deal with now. What is clear, however, is once established you should be communicating your brand in all that you do, all of the time.
When you think about the brand it is often in terms of what is your brand identity? That is a good question, to answer that you need to first understand what brand identity is. This involves the strategic choices you make about the audience and the promise you are going to make. That is why it is so important to understand your market and have a good detailed picture of your ideal client, often referred to as the client avatar.
Brand identity is all about the perception of others and so the perception you create is fundamental to this. To set the right tone you need to have a handle on what you want people to think and say about you. It is fair to say at this point, that to create what you might refer to as a future proof brand, one that will stand the test of time, it will need to reflect the values of the people you intend to serve beyond the offering of today.
Your brand is a lasting impact that you create for your entire market. It is the collective impact or if you prefer the lasting impression derived from all that is seen, heard and experienced by your customers for sure. I also feel there is a wider audience to bring into this, your stakeholders. Therefore you need to understand who these people and or organisations are.
my own interpretation, one shared by many business pundits, is as follows. Your stakeholders are made up of anyone who is interested in what you do and anyone who has an influence over what you do. Hopefully, it won’t escape you that this refers, in fact to pretty much everyone.
In other words, anyone who comes in contact with your business, its products and or services, this includes the community in which it operates too. Branding your business is therefore managing the effect that the business, product and services are having on the outside world.