Many people jump into business without understanding what branding means. Yes, we are all familiar with brands that are already established, but what does it truly mean to create your brand and to build that brand recognition? This is what we’ll be discussing to help you gain a deeper understanding about the importance of your brand and what that means.
Here’s an example, what comes to mind when you hear “Have a ______ and a smile!” Yes, we all know it’s Coke, but think of all the images that flash through your mind when you think about having a Coke and a smile. I bet images of the good times in your life or even the images of happy people enjoying a Coke do.
This brand, this message is intentionally woven through all of Coke’s marketing and through their company. They want people to think of them as the company that brings smiles to people and that included their employees. Have you ever met anyone who worked for Coke that wasn’t smiling? Well, there may be some, but I’ve never met them, and my mental picture of Coke surely has a lot of smiling going on, especially their shareholders.
“Your brand is how people perceive you wherever they interact with your business – both the impressions you can control and the ones you can’t.”
Your brand starts with your message, but it goes way beyond that. In fact, it goes way beyond image. Your brand is about your intention, integrity, inspiration, and initiative. In the Building Your Brand 4-part series we are going to break it down to help you gain a deeper understanding and start to act on building your own unique brand.
Businesses have names, products, logos, colors, fonts, a language, and reputations to manage that make up who they are and affect how they’re perceived.
You can’t build a brand without being consistent and maintaining that consistency as you extend your brand to every part of your business. But it all starts with establishing what your intentions are and the feeling you want it to evoke. How do you want people to feel when they hear your company name?
Here are some great questions to help you set your intentions:
- What are the values that you bring to your business?
- How do you want to be remembered long after you’re done working with a client?
- What do you want people to say about your work or product?
- What do you want people to say about your company?
- How will you make such an impression that you will be the one they refer to their others?
- What will you do to make people feel so good they will pay whatever price you ask?
Be intentional about how you make people feel with your brand. Emotions, feelings, are what inspire people to act with purpose. When you are intentional about the emotional connection people have with your company and your products, they feel connected. Be intentional about how you maintain that emotional connection and you will build brand loyalty for life.
At 30 Second Success we help business owners, professionals, and sales teams identify your brand message for networking and for video. If you are struggling to find the words that describe your brand or need help figuring out your brand schedule a call today.
