Most people think of branding as simply “the logo,” but a logo is just the beginning of a brand’s visual aspect. Your brand is who you are and what people view you and your business as. Every decision you make reflects back to your business and your brand. With that in mind, here are some keys to building a successful brand:
1. Create the right tagline.
Spend a full day with three or four of your top team members talking about how you want to be perceived in public. What is the emotional reaction you want your audience to have when engaging the brand and what do you want them to remember? Develop your tagline based on this discussion.
2. Stand out from the crowd.
Think about who your audience is. What are your top competitors doing in terms of their site look and how they are expressing themselves? Look for some core commonalities, and simultaneously prepare to identify where you can innovate and differentiate.
3. Develop your company culture…
And then do all your hiring and your onboarding with this culture in mind. Don’t bring on people who could destroy client relationships you spent months or years to cultivate.
4. Be patient with your brand.
Take on every new outreach initiative with care. Think of it as your baby. Just as you wouldn’t start feeding solid food to a 3-month-old, don’t rush any of your outreach activities, whether they be PR, advertising, or marketing materials.
5. Be consistent.
Think of your outreach as being interconnected, like a body. The brand is the brain. Public relations, advertising, marketing, and sales are all extensions of that brain, and they must be coordinated and aligned. The copy, design and language your team uses is must always be based off of the brand. If possible, don’t use multiple designers or multiple copywriters. Find people who capture the essence of your brand and use them consistently.
6. Put people first.
The brand is more than the business. It is the executive team’s and the individual employees’ personal brands as well. People do business with people, and a strong CEO brand, executive brand, or personal brand helps build a positive reputation overall. Nearly everyone prefers working with businesses that are people-oriented and actually care about their customers. Be that company by embodying a people-first attitude in all that you and your employees do.
Ronne B
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