Your logo isn't a Brand, unless it's on a cow.
By Greta Berg (Company B Graphics) - November 29th, 2009
There's a misconception in the business community today on what exactly branding is. Some business owners feel it's their company's logo or name, while others think it's their product or service.
The truth is, they're both right. Well, sort of. All of those elements are meant to work together to identify your businesses products and services from others—but there more to it. It's important to understand that branding is more than just identifying these variables. You should view your branding as more than getting potential customers to identify your business but rather to make them realize you are the only business.
So, how do we do that? It's actually not that daunting of a task once you know where to start. The first step is to look—really look—at your business. Ask yourself: Who are we? What do we do? Who's our competition? How are we different? If you don't know who you are or where you are going, it will be hard to design a clear visual image, collateral or a marketing plan. The last thing you want to do is spend all that money on a confused message.
Try this... think of your business as a celebrity. It might sound strange, but it's not, really. Celebrities are an excellent example of good branding. (Well, maybe the successful ones.) They understand who they are, what they want, who their competition is and what makes them different from one another. Brad Pitt and Johny Depp are two actors with completely unique styles, both successful but no one will ever confuse them. They use good branding to create a persona to the public. They connect emotionally with their audience and people will pay just about any ticket price to go and seem them, and will even follow their careers.
Sit down think for a moment, "If my business were a celebrity, who would it be?" Maybe you're a personal financier, like Clark Howard. He's knowledgeable, professional, and easy to talk to; he's even funny. Or, how about Susie Ortman? She's also knowledgeable and professional but more straight to the point. Once you understand your business personality, it will be easier to plug in the other supporting brand elements—logo, marketing plan and how you approach the public. A clear and strong message connects emotionally (no matter what kind of personality you build upon) with your customers, giving you credibility, and most importantly brand loyalty. After all, you want these people to be with you for their rest of their lives.
It's important to understand that to connect emotionally with your market, you must understand them; who are they, how they think, what do they need and how can you provide that for them. You should create an experience for them at every point of contact with your establishment - from how your storefront appears, to how you answer the phone. It should be comforting for them to know that you will take care of them. This should be no problem for you, you know who you are, what you're capable of and how well you can do it... they believe in you and so do your employees. Your brand experience is not just for your target market, it also applies internally as well. That is the sign of a strong brand, one that supports a business inside and out.
Developing a strong brand is just not for a new business. You may find that your current business is having an identity crises, or maybe you just bought a business but you'd like to change its current target market. It's never too late to revise and reinvest in your business.
Markets change, products advance and you may find that your customers have a different expectation than they did five or ten years ago. Businesses are opened and closed every day, not because they didn't have a great product, but because they didn't know who they were, how their customers think and couldn't get them to trust in them. It's better to look at where you are now, visualize where you want to be tomorrow and make a plan for the future, than to slowly fade away with a non functioning brand.
It's smart to use caution, however, as once you've built your brand it must never be left alone. Building your brand is a daily, weekly and yearly activity. It should bend and weave with the purchasing patterns of your customers.
A good case in point of a business that lost it's identity through the years, is the Encyclopedia Britannica. They have been around since the 18th century. They had it all—brand equity, brand loyalty, and more. Their customers preferred them over any other encyclopedia and they soon became know as the experts in their field. Then the market shifted, personal computers became affordable and almost every home had one. A small company came to Encyclopedia Britannica an asked if they could partner up with them in developing a digital version of the encyclopedia with pictures that could be sold to students. Encyclopedia Britannica turned them down and the small company partnered with another small company which, in turn, sold them with every computer. Microsoft's Encarta soon became the new expert on information because they saw the future of their target market.
Encyclopedia Britannica did learn from their mistake... they now have their own website with over 120,000 articles. They also have developed their own digital library and are moving into the mobile phone industry, where customers are able to access a mobile encyclopedia.
Life can get busy, but it pays to take the time to stop, take a look at where your brand is in its development, and don't be afraid to make the necessary changes—your business just may depend on it!
In future articles we will take a closer look at some of the variables that make up a good brand. Until then, happy branding!
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