How are You Branded?
As mentioned previously, there are three branding levels that you can occupy in the mind of your client or customer:
Ask yourself the following questions:
If you answer yes to these questions then you are well on your way to a successful brand, and company. If you did not answer yes to these questions, then you fall into a large generic zone like I found myself, a zone that requires dedication to escape.
We discuss this in our Business Network International* (BNI) meetings during our 60 second commercials. Answer these questions:
Did you describe yourself as a generic business or as a brand?
Look again and describe these three aspects of your branding and how it is that your branding can reflect each.
The question that you should be answering is:
If I bring my products and services and my people together in a special way, what outcome could they create that no one else has?
Use these questions as a guide:
Understanding Your Brand in Your Market
Assess your market, then ask these questions about your market:
Find the answers to these questions through your own knowledge but also from your customers and vendors.
Building or Re-designing Your Brand
All companies have a design for their brand, even if they have not created one. By determining the design of your brand, your capabilities, market, and goals you can guide your brand to success.
From the previous questions, determine which outcomes benefit your business and which have negative influences. Then drop the negative and follow the positive, or if the outcomes do not meet your objectives, change your direction and re-design your brand to reflect your goals.
Once you have your goals established, modify your behavior to facilitate the implementation of your brand.
*BNI is an international referral organization with over 4500 chapters worldwide. It is unique among referral organizations in that the chapters follow a formal agenda for mandatory weekly business meetings where membership is limited to one member per business category. www.bni.com