Branding Series 2

In his book Build a Brand in 30 Days, Simon Middleton, the brand strategy guru suggests that brand is not a static thing but an ever-changing and dynamic one. He goes on to look at why brand meaning should matter to any company you can name; and why it should matter to you. Simon says that without brand every company will just be a name and nothing more. It is 'brand' that gives every business a personality and presence in the world. It is brand that enables us to understand them, and allows them to communicate with and sell to us.

If you are an individual or better still a company, brand gives you stability, growth potential, loyalty and longevity.

Now how do you know whether you have a strong brand or a weak brand? We will examine the characteristics of both weak and strong brands so that you know where your business falls.

Weak Brands exhibit a combination of the following:

• few people know about the brand
• few people understand what the brand is about or there are mixed messages or perceptions about the brand
• people can't remember the name
• you have to explain at length what your brand is about before people say "oh yes, I got it now"

If your company is characterized by a combination of any of the above, then I'm sorry to tell you that you have a weak brand. But don't beat yourself up because of this. I will give you tips to help you improve your brand in the coming days; so just watch out for the next in this series.

Peace and love to you.

Edem

Branding Series 1

One way or the other, every one of us has heard about Branding. What is it and what is it not? And how does it impact individuals and businesses? Well, I'll try as much as possible to demystify the subject in this BRANDING SERIES so that it will be clearer and less complex to comprehend. You will also be able to apply the simple principles and lessons that I'll be sharing here to your personal life as an individual and to your business, that is, if you run a business. That's the essence of my blog anyway! Adding value to people and businesses - Consulting Lesson 1: As a Consultant in any field, your first aim should be to add value to your client's business.

Now let's get on with the business of Branding. Many of us have the misconception that branding is about logos, slogans, advertising etc. And it is also a business for specially qualified executives in big companies. Sadly, branding is none of these. It is a more serious business than logos, slogans and advertising. Branding is meaning. It is simply a set of meanings that your customers and potential customers carry around about you or your business in their heads and in their hearts.

Think about it this way, what comes into your mind immediately you hear the name Puma or BBC? I bet each of us will have different sets of meanings for the two names. These meanings may be Positive or Negative. But irrespective of what those meanings are, you will find responses that are similar and cut across should you critically assess the answers of a sample size of say ten individuals. I am sure seven out of the ten will give you meanings related to sports in the case of Puma and meanings related to news or media in the case of BBC. 

So your brand is simply everything that your potential customers say, think, feel, imagine and even see about you or your organization. 

I do not intend to make my blogs long and boring so I will continue in the next Series! Stay alive and keep adding value to you and your business.

Consulting Business

Hi World,

Watch this space! Think, act and speak the Consulting Way. It's going to be business and fun on my blog.

Cheers