We wrote this article to help you understand the key elements to building a brand. There are several definitions of the word “brand”. If you ask numerous people in the business community, they may have varying answers as to what a brand is. We don’t like to define a brand as anything tangible. Building a brand is about creating something far more powerful. A brand is a feeling. Your brand is what your customers say about you when you aren’t there to hear it. Your brand should be dynamic. It should be a true reflection of your products or services. Here are 5 questions to ask yourself when building a brand:
Do you have a vision?
How clearly do you see your vision?
Where do you see this company in 10 years? How about 40? What is your growth plan? What will it look like when you accomplish your vision? Your customers want to know how they identify with you. People want to be invested in something that’s stable, reliable, consistent. Your vision should reflect those. Building a brand starts with having a vision, and a strategy to reach it.
What’s your brand’s mission?
If you know your purpose, you can more easily navigate your direction.
What is the purpose of your company? What are your products and/or services? Who are your customers? Where do you serve them, and how? Does your organization have values or philosophies? Are there fundamental matters that are important to you? When you’re building a brand, you have to know where you’re going. You also have to know who you are, and how you got here. If you don’t provide it to your customers, they have no way to know. The more you let them see, the more they identify with you. The point? Loyalty.
How do you make people feel?
Several studies conclude that up to 90 percent of the decisions we make are based on emotion. We use logic to justify our actions to ourselves and to others
People associate emotions with everything. Most do so without realizing it. Emotions are a driving force in human behavior. They play a large factor in decision making. How are you ensuring your customers ‘feel’ something? What type of emotions are you inspiring them to feel? This is the most commonly missed step when building a brand.
What’s the personality of your brand?
Are your team’s personalities inline with your brand’s?
How does your brand speak to your audience? How does the brand act? We all have personalities. As individuals, we are extensions of our businesses. Just as our businesses are extensions of us. Our own personality affects the brand. The brand’s personality affects us. It’s an infinite circle. What words will others use to define your brand? Are they the right words? Remember we just talked about how people feel? What does your personality make them feel? This is another highly overlooked part of building a brand. If you need help defining your brand’s personality, check out this blog.
What value do you offer?
This might come as a shock, so ready yourself. The last thing you solidify when building a brand is your value. Why? Because you never want the value to sway your vision. Or your mission. It’s better to structure your value AFTER you have your emotions and personality in place. The value that you offer your customers is very important. It’s what they’re initially looking for. That value should be cohesive with the rest of your brand. Building a brand on value alone isn’t enough. Lots of people can offer similar value, products, or services. But how many people can offer your vision? Your mission? Isn’t your personality unique? The way you make them feel is different than how others make them feel. That’s what’s most important about building a brand. Having it all come together harmoniously. Having it mean something more than the value.
Building a brand
What’s the foundation of your brand look like?
We really hope that this helped you ask yourself the right questions about building a brand. More importantly, your brand. If you already have a brand, can you build a better one? We believe there’s always room for improvement. Always opportunity to make your brand stronger. Develop more customer loyalty. Increase awareness. If you need a little help building a brand, or you’d like a review of what you’ve built, Let’s Chat!
Thanks for reading! I appreciate your stopping by.