Entrepreneur: Branding – Entrepreneur Small Business Encyclopedia

An effective brand strategy gives you a major edge in
increasingly competitive markets. But what exactly does “branding”
mean? Simply put, your brand is your promise to your customer. It
tells them what they can expect from your products and services,
and it differentiates your offering from that of your competitors.
Your brand is derived from who you are, who you want to be and who
people perceive you to be.

Are you the innovative maverick in your industry? Or the
experienced, reliable one? Is your product the high-cost,
high-quality option, or the low-cost, high-value option? You can’t
be both, and you can’t be all things to all people. Who you are
should be based to some extent on who your target customers want
and need you to be.

The foundation of your brand is your logo. Your website,
packaging and promotional materials–all of which should integrate
your logo–communicate your brand.

Your brand strategy is how, what, where, when and to whom you
plan on communicating and delivering on your brand messages. Where
you advertise is part of your brand strategy. Your distribution
channels are also part of your brand strategy. And what you
communicate visually and verbally is part of your brand strategy,
too.

Consistent, strategic branding leads to a strong brand equity,
which means the added value brought to your company’s products or
services that allows you to charge more for your brand than what
identical, unbranded products command. The most obvious example of
this is Coke vs. a generic soda. Because Coca-Cola has built a
powerful brand equity, it can charge more for its product–and
customers will pay that higher price.

The added value intrinsic to brand equity frequently comes in
the form of perceived quality or emotional attachment. For example,
Nike associates its products with star athletes, hoping customers
will transfer their emotional attachment from the athlete to the
product. For Nike, it’s not just the shoe’s features that sell the
shoe.

Defining your brand is like a journey of business
self-discovery. It can be difficult, time-consuming and
uncomfortable. It requires, at the very least, that you answer the
questions below:

• What is your company’s mission?
• What are the benefits and features of your
  products or services?
• What do your customers and prospects already think
  of your company?
• What qualities do you want them to associate with
  your company?

Do your research. Learn the needs, habits and desires of your
current and prospective customers. And don’t rely on what you think
they think. Know what they think.

Once you’ve defined your brand, how do you get the word out?
Here are a few simple, time-tested tips:

• Get a great logo. Place it everywhere.
• Write down your brand messaging. What are
  the key messages you want to communicate about your brand? Every
  employee should be aware of your brand attributes.
• Integrate your brand. Branding extends to
  every aspect of your business–how you answer your phones, what you
  or your salespeople wear on sales calls, your e-mail signature,
  everything.
• Create a “voice” for your company that reflects
  your brand. This voice should be applied to all written
  communication and incorporated in the visual imagery of all
  materials, online and off. Is your brand friendly? Be
  conversational. Is it ritzy? Be more formal. You get the gist.
• Develop a tagline. Write a memorable,
  meaningful and concise statement that captures the essence of your
  brand.
• Design templates and create brand standards for
  your marketing materials. Use the same color scheme, logo
  placement, look and feel throughout. You don’t need to be fancy,
  just consistent.
• Be true to your brand. Customers won’t
  return to you–or refer you to someone else–if you don’t deliver
  on your brand promise.
• Be consistent. This tip involves all the
  above and is the most important tip on this list. If you can’t do
  this, your attempts at establishing a brand will fail.