Your brand is neither your logo nor tagline. It’s not the colors or words you use. Whether you like it or not, in many ways, your brand is the perception people have when they hear your name and how it reflects on your brand promise.
Upon hearing your name, if people think about how you can help them, and why you do it better than others, then you’ve done quite well. But, if your name triggers the wrong perceptions about your business, then you clearly have some work to do. If nothing comes to mind, then you’re missing an opportunity to distinguish your business from your rivals and gain a competitive edge.
Some businesses have a multitude of brands without realizing it. For example, if they have an over-aggressive salesperson who rubs people the wrong way, to that particular audience, that annoying salesperson is the company brand. If people think of the business owner as “a really nice guy,” but don’t know their company’s value statement and why they’re the better choice, then some retooling is most likely needed.
Remember, a great brand builds customer loyalty and brings non-tangible value to your business. So, making sure it sends the right message in the right words to the right audience is vital. And, enabling it to resonate throughout your organization and into the marketplace requires a calculated effort. It needs to be adopted by your staff, reflected through all of your communications, and creatively and strategically executed.
You all have to live it and breathe it. And, above all, you have to deliver the goods.
So, if you find yourself continually restating your promise or steering your audience away from false perceptions, then it’s time to take a step back and see where things have gone astray. And, that might just require the objectivity that can only come from outside of your organization.
Related Posts
Brand Identity: A Demanding Task, But One Worth Undertaking
If you’re looking to create a new brand identity or enhance your current one, expect to be deeply involved, regularly challenged and perhaps a bit frustrated. It surely won’t happen overnight. But your patience will certainly pay off.
A Great Brand Requires Enduring Vision
As the year closes, ask yourself how your current challenges and objectives align with your overall vision. Have you lost your way, or are you sticking to your Brand Promise? Is it still meaningful to your customers and prospects? Have you allowed yourself the room to evolve with their needs, or have you boxed yourself in?
What’s in a Name, Anyway?
If your business is like ours, you don’t have a bottomless marketing budget to build awareness of a name that lacks clarity. We have to be more calculated and deliberate.
Three Major Hurdles of Business Naming
Business naming is one of the more difficult things we do. Aside from the creative challenges, there are three major hurdles we have to leap. For every name we present, there are, literally, dozens of candidates that never make the cut. The client never sees any of those.
Bringing Out the Best.
Greatness cannot be achieved within a vacuum. It takes vision, perseverance and a team of experts to make it happen. It requires an understanding of what your audience wants, even if it’s something that doesn’t quite exist. You aim high, learn from your failures and never say, “It can’t be done.”
Six Telltale Signs to Knowing when You Have a Weak Brand
If any of these scenarios seem familiar, perhaps it’s time to consider retooling your brand.