Start Your Own Business (77 page)

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Branding is your company’s foundation.
Branding is more than an element of marketing, and it’s not just about awareness, a trademark or a logo. Branding is your company’s reason for being, the synchronization of everything about your company that leads to consistency for you as the owner, your employees and your potential customers. Branding meshes your marketing, public relations, business plan, packaging, pricing, customers and employees (the last element is often the most overlooked; read “In The Loop” on page 489 for more on this).

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Branding creates value.
If done right, branding makes the buyer trust and believe your product is somehow better than those of your competitors. Generally, the more distinctive you can make your brand, the less likely the customer will be willing to use another company’s product or service, even if yours is slightly more expensive. In fact, a recent J.D. Power and Associates web-based survey of nearly 7,500 consumers who purchased or leased a new vehicle within the last six years found 93 percent of them willing to pay more for a brand name. “Branding is the reason why people perceive you as the only solution to their problem,” says Rob Frankel, a branding expert and author of
The Revenge of Brand X: How to Build a Big Time Brand on the Web or Anywhere Else
. “Once you clearly can articulate your brand, people have a way of evangelizing your brand.”

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Branding clarifies your message.
You have less money to spend on advertising and marketing as a startup entrepreneur, and good branding can help you direct your money more effectively. “The more distinct and clear your brand, the harder your advertising works,” Frankel says. “Instead of having to run your ads eight or nine times, you only have to run them three times.”

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Branding is a promise.
At the end of the day, branding is the simple, steady promise you make to every customer who walks through your door—today, tomorrow and ten years from now. Your company’s ads and brochures might say you offer speedy, friendly service, but if customers find your service slow and surly, they’ll walk out the door feeling betrayed. In their eyes, you promised something that you didn’t deliver, and no amount of advertising will ever make up for the gap between what your company says and what it does. Branding creates the consistency that allows you to deliver on your promise over and over again.

“Success is often
achieved by those who
don’t know that failure
is inevitable.”

—GABRIELLE “COCO”
CHANEL, FOUNDER OF
CHANEL INC.

 

 

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Step one: Set yourself apart.
Why should people buy from you instead of the same kind of business across town? Think about the intangible qualities of your product or service, using adjectives from “friendly” to “fast” and every word in between. Your goal is to own a position in the customer’s mind so they think of you differently than the competition. “Powerful brands will own a word—like Volvo [owns] safety,” says Laura Ries, an Atlanta marketing consultant and co-author of
The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding: How to Build a Product or Service into a World-Class Brand
. Which word will your company own? A new hair salon might focus on the adjective “convenient” and stay open a few hours later in the evening for customers who work late—something no other local salon might do. How will you be different from the competition? The answers are valuable assets that constitute the basis of your brand.

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Step two: Know your target customer.
Once you’ve defined your product or service, think about your target customer. You’ve probably already gathered demographic information about the market you’re entering, but think about the actual customers who will walk through your door. Who is this person, and what is the one thing he or she ultimately wants from your product or service? After all, the customer is buying it for a reason. What will your customer demand from you?

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Step three: Develop a personality.
How will you show customers every day what you’re all about? A lot of small companies write mission statements that say the company will “value” customers and strive for “excellent customer service.” Unfortunately, these words are all talk, and no action. Dig deeper and think about how you’ll fulfill your brand’s promise and provide value and service to the people you serve. If you promise quick service, for example, what will “quick” mean inside your company? And how will you make sure service stays speedy? Along the way, you’re laying the foundation of your hiring strategy and how future employees will be expected to interact with customers. You’re also creating the template for your advertising and marketing strategy.

IN THE LOOP

 

M
any companies large and small stumble when it comes to incorporating employees into their branding strategies. But to the customer making a purchase, your employee is the company. Your employees can make or break your entire brand, so don’t ever forget them. Here are a few tips:

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Hire based on brand strategy
. Communicating your brand through your employees starts with making the right hires. Look to your brand strategy for help. If your focus is on customer service, employees should be friendly, unflappable and motivated, right? Give new hires a copy of your brand strategy, and talk about it.

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Set expectations
. How do you expect employees to treat customers? Make sure they understand what’s required. Reward employees who do an exceptional job or go above and beyond the call of duty.

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Communicate, then communicate some more
. Keeping employees clued in requires ongoing communication about the company’s branding efforts through meetings, posters, training, etc. Never, ever assume employees can read your mind.

 

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Keep ads brand-focused.
Keep your promotional blitzes narrowly focused on your chief promise to potential customers. For example, a new bakery might see the warmth of its fresh bread as its greatest brand-building asset. Keep your message simple and consistent so people get the same message every time they see your name and logo.

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Be consistent.
Filter every business proposition through a branding filter. How does this opportunity help build the company’s brand? How does this opportunity fit our branding strategy? These questions will keep you focused and put you in front of people who fit your product or service.

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Shed the deadweight.
Good businesses are willing to change their brands but are careful not to lose sight of their original customer base and branding message. Consider Starbucks, which changed the way it made lattes to speed up the process. “You have to give up something to build a brand,” Ries says. “Good brands constantly get rid of things that don’t work.”

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The Business of Brands.
Written by Jon Miller and David Muir and published by John Wiley & Sons, this book discusses creating value around a brand as well as brand strategy.

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Brandweek.
This trade magazine is a good source of news and information about branding trends. A one-year subscription (including online website access) costs $299. Call (800) 684-1873, or visit
brandweek.com
to subscribe.

Branding Checklist

 

Test your branding savvy by answering “yes” or “no” to these statements. Hint: The more you answer “no,” the more you’ll need to bone up on your knowledge of branding.

• I know what branding means, exactly.

• I’ve added a simple branding strategy to my business plan.

• I understand the one thing the customer ultimately wants from my product or service.

• I know what our straightforward and consistent message will be to the customer, today and 20 years from now.

• I’ve thought about how my company will ultimately provide value and service to the customer.

• I’ll rely on the company’s brand strategy when hiring future employees.

• The company’s brandmark (logo), packaging, stationery, slogan and approach to customer service all reflect our company’s main promise to the customer.

• I plan to measure the effectiveness of our branding strategy through an annual brand audit.

 

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Designing Brand Identity: A Complete Guide to Creating, Building, and Maintaining Strong Brands.
This John Wiley & Sons book by Alina Wheeler discusses branding fundamentals and also provides a number of case studies.

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Emotional Branding: The New Paradigm for Connecting Brands to People.
Written by Marc Gobe , this book delves into creating a strong brand personality, among other things.

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The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding: How to Build a Product or Service Into a World-Class Brand.
This Harper Business book by Al Ries and Laura Ries includes tips for branding as well as numerous examples of how successful companies have built their brands.