What Is The Essence of Branding?
By Nick Rice On August 24, 2006
Under Branding, Business, Marketing, Uncategorized
I’ve had the wonderful experience of spending a lot of time recently with successful entrepreneurs. They have a lot in common. First off, there is an undeniable passion for their business. Next the uncanny ability to not only spot a new opportunity but to jump on it with little to no hesitation. And lastly they also tend to think of branding as something that just happens by doing a good job.
If you are the only employee, that might be okay because you control everything. But if you have a staff, your brand is bigger than just you and the value you bring to the table. Because you cannot control every interaction between employees, suppliers, and customers; you cannot totally control your brand.
Gut Feelings
I define brand as the gut feeling of those people that has been exposed to your company and/or products and services. Since you cannot control individual gut feelings, you cannot control your brand. You can, however, influence it. You have a vision for the type of company/products that you want to known for. If your desired brand image is out of alignment with your customers, employees, suppliers, and any one else that is aware of you, you have a problem. Good branding is alignment between your promises and their experiences. If you can reliably delight those people, you’re brand will grow.
The discipline of branding is simply taking proactive steps to ensure that alignment with your vision. These steps can take many forms, here are a few:
- improved company image (logo, letterhead, advertising, marketing communications, packaging, etc…)
- improved products
- better customer service
- improved accounting processes
Obviously, some of these things are easier to implement than others. It’s easy to get a fresh look and feel for your marketing and advertising materials – though it may not be cheap. Others will take intense cultural changes throughout the entire company to see the benefits. The better you understand your unique value, your vision, and the desires of your customers, the better you can build your brand.
Branding Is Not Optional
Branding is happening whether you are driving it or not. Every interaction with your company creates an impression in that person. And it doesn’t even have to be directly with you. How many times have you steered clear of a product or service based on the advice of a friend? In that case, you never get the chance to make a positive impression. It doesn’t matter how good your product or service is because they’ll never get that far. That’s why the old adage of “one satisfied customer is worth ten” still rings true.
Entrepreneurs like to steer clear of branding because it forces them to put a stake in the ground. That’s scary because they’re comfortable pursuing every opportunity that looks beneficial – regardless of how it affects the current setup. It’s a fine line to walk. You need to be known as the best in some space. Customers aren’t looking for the next tool that slices, dices, and juliennes. They want the best slicer on the market. It’s very much the Long Tail theory.
To really be a powerful brand, you must have alignment between your vision and those gut feelings. In a commodity market, brand is the primary driver of purchase. People are loyal to brands – though that’s waning with increasing selection and standardization. A strong brand today has to be unique. It has to stand heads and shoulders above the competition. A strong brand doesn’t compete in markets, it defines markets.
The tip of the iceberg is focusing on brand alignment. The harder part is creating alignment. It’s making the changes in your organization that affect employee/supplier/customer experiences. A lower price is just one option – and usually not the best one.
If you view branding as an expense or a necessary evil, you’re already behind the curve.
Nick Rice
