Branding: Who’s Controlling Your Brand?
“A business that puts the goals of the corporation before the needs of its customers relinquishes control of its brand and leaves it open to random interpretation.” Ian Macaulay, Senior Partner, Macaulay Communications Group
(PRWEB) August 10, 2004 -- Branding is a complex process. The purpose of this
article is to define exactly what branding is and to outline some of the
elements that are essential in the building of a great
brand.
It’s not without purpose that I’ll be
placing a great deal of emphasis on customer needs. It’s too easy to say “well
that’s obvious”. It’s quite another thing to make customer needs the foundation
of your brand and to practice it in all your affairs.
Big multinational
or small home business the fundamentals of branding apply to all.
One of
the most successful brands I’ve encountered was owned by the “newsy” who
operated his business in the shadow of Toronto’s bank towers. Always gracious,
he knew his hundreds of loyal clients by name, a little about their jobs and
their families, knew what they read, handed it to them as they quickly walked
past on their way to work and trusted them to pay him without taking the time to
count the money. 30° below in a blizzard or 100° above in the steaming heat he
could always be counted on to be there with a cheerful and personal greeting.
In short, he had built a great brand based on a genuine interest in his
customers and their needs. I’m told he retired in considerable comfort a happy
man.
Since there is some confusion as to what
branding actually is, let’s define what I mean by branding.
What is
branding?
Branding is often confused with "corporate identity" or
"corporate image."
Corporate identity refers to a company's name, logo,
tagline or slogan - its visual expression or its "look.”
Image is the
public's perception of a company, whether that perception is intended or not!
A brand is the sum total of all the impressions people can experience
about a company or products.
A strategic process:
Branding is a
business process that is planned, strategically-focused on the needs of your
customers and integrated throughout an organization.
Branding
establishes the direction, leadership, clarity of purpose, inspiration and
energy for a company's most important asset, its corporate brand.
What is
communication as it applies to branding?
Communication is anything that
imparts a message of any kind in any way.
In terms of branding,
everything you are and do as a business, in your community and as individuals
are media communicating your brand to others.
Emotional triggers:
People recall those messages that impact on them emotionally. I call
them emotional triggers.
Emotional triggers cause a feeling of “good” or
“need” in a targeted public.
In communicating, the objective is to have
people “feel” something good rather than think something good.
Consistency & Continuity:
Consistency and continuity are
essential to establishing brand recognition. This applies to all communication
in all media.
A major reason for brand failure is: A business either
doesn’t have an integrated strategic branding and communications plan, or if
they do, they don’t stick-to-it.
While a strategic plan must make
allowance for flexibility, experimentation is not an option.
Precise
targeting: (Building your brand community)
Precise targeting delivers
your brand to customers, media and markets that will have an interest in your
company and its products. This is your brand community and your most important
asset.
Precise targeting will take your brand to where it will do you
the most good at the least cost.
Other publics are for the most part
irrelevant.
Creating a great brand - Customers first:
As I
pointed out earlier, corporate branding is a business process that is planned,
strategically-focused on customer needs and integrated throughout an
organization.
Involvement of your management team and at times your
entire staff is imperative to achieving a successful outcome. In essence
companies are the people who work for them. Employee participation in the
branding process results in staff emotional buy-in to both the branding
procedure and to your corporate goals.
The brander’s overall function is
to act as a simplifier. Focusing on the needs of its customers; the internal
organization and culture of a business, the brander refines what he finds into
simple understandable feelings, thoughts and images over which the client can
maintain control.
Objectivity is an indispensable ingredient. You’ll
need to be realistic about every aspect of your business. The brander’s task is
to help you to be impartial.
Choosing a brander:
Not to be
confused with brand management, “managing" the creation of a brand is very much
like directing a film. Scenes are shot out of sequence. Bits and pieces are
worked on by a number of people in different places at different times. Periodic
team meetings pull the work together ensuring consistency and continuity.
What should you be looking for when selecting a brander? Because the
brander will need to know everything there is to know about your business you’ll
want to select someone you can trust.
Experiences in branding with a
strong background in all aspects of communications are primary prerequisites.
Your brander will work with a team of professionals, each one the master of a
business or communication discipline. These can include corporate governance and
internal communications experts, public relations specialists, copy writers,
graphic designers, and media planners.
In summing up, remember, your
image is the public's perception of your company, whether that perception
intended or not.
Respect your customers – control your
brand.
Members of the Macaulay Group are recognized as experts in
branding, public relations, communications, corporate governance and internal
communications. Together they possess a wealth of experience.
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/8/prweb147901.htm