1. Thinking you are too small to build a brand

Your company has a brand. It can’t be avoided. Branding is all about perception and your customers and will have a perception about your company. This could be from what they have read, what they have heard or what they have seen. We all do it it’s Human nature.

The clever companies though acknowledge this fact and decide to have a positive influence on it. So they have a better understanding of their customers wants and needs, and the customer better understands what they are being offered.

No matter of your size all businesses can start building a brand for the future.

2. Branding without research

When you decide to apply branding to your company it’s important you research your market, competition, your customers and your staff. Find out where you are currently in the market place. Who are your main competitors? And where are they positioned? Then you can start to decide where you want to be and produce a map to get there. Maybe you’ll stop a gap that you have the skills, knowledge and desire to fulfill.

Remember branding is about positioning yourself separate from your competitors. You can’t do this is you are only doing what your competitors are doing.

3. Thinking the brand is the logo

All companies have a brand. The mistake is that many companies believe their brand is the logo. It’s NOT!

The logo is part of the brand, but is only 1 part. A brand encompasses who you are as a company, what you stand for as well as the soul of the company. It encompasses your core competencies, your assets and infrastructure, and your core essence. Only when you discover what you’re best at and what your customers think you’re best at, can you start to construct a brand that will truly reflect your company.

4. Not talking to customers

When branding your company talk to your customers, try and get them to honestly answer what your company, service, product does for them. You may be surprised at the answers, and herein lies the secret at what you do. Listen to your customers and build the relevant answers in to your brand building.

5. Not communicating the brand to staff as well as customers

When you have your brand defined and you know where you are in the market, who your customers are, and what you can uniquely offer them, you’ll want to tell your market. Great, but please don’t forget to let your staff know and get them on board first. If they don’t believe in your brand then why would your customers?

6. Believing branding costs too much

Branding, like any service or product only costs too much when it doesn’t work. Going to a professional branding consultant or brand agency with a great reputation and good examples of related work will be one of the best investments your company can make.

If you think you have had branding before and you’ve ended up with a revamped logo and new stationery, then you haven’t gone through the branding building process.

7. Not sticking to your brand

Don’t let others, who do not understand your brand take it away from you. Sure you need to constantly review the market, products and customers, but make sure that remain true to your brand. It’s easy to let it slip and new staff members, outside consultants or suppliers can soon deviate your brand from it’s goal. Make sure they understand your brand before you let them use it.

You need to revisit your brand time and time again, make sure that the message is consistent and on brand. This applies to not only your logo, but your many other things including: Premises your telephone manner, your literature and your dress.

Remember, branding when done right saves you money and allows you to get on with running your business. When you have a clear branding strategy making decisions on where to advertise, what to advertise, how the website should look, what it should include, which brochures are needed, and what training is needed becomes straight forward.

Further information

Over time I plan to expand on each one of these points, so please feel free to sign up to our RSS feed or email feed, so you don’t miss out.

If you have any comments, please leave them below, I’m happy to answer any questions or queries.