To begin with, I want to clarify the distinction when I say a ‘brand’ versus a business in this article. A brand although may be closely related to the overall business and in some instances the brand is the business, but not always one in the same. A brand needs to be created and built such as the operational aspect of any business. The brand and the business start on parallel paths and eventually if you succeed they merge into one, it creates a synergy. So why do most brands fail? They fail to merge.
Building a brand that resonates and merges with the overall business isn’t a simple task. I’d say it’s probably the toughest task when starting and operating a business. Majority of business owners have a tough time in clarifying the two while building their business. They believe just by operating the business the brand will build itself, or the opposite, by building a brand the business will operate itself.
Starting with the basics, what defines a ‘brand’? Unfortunately, I believe that’s the root of the issue today. Everyone defines a ‘brand’ differently and you will probably hear many different versions. The historical definition of a brand is, a product, service, logo, design, symbol etc. that represents a business that is distinct from its competitors. While that may be true, a ‘brand’ is no longer what is used to be. It isn’t just a nice logo. The evolution of branding (parallel to the evolution of the internet) has brought us to a more complex definition. A brand is now become the perception of how the consumer views your product. The most complex part of that definition is perception. Human perception is like time, it’s constant. It’s always changing.
“Their perception is your reality”
Perception changes with every experience a consumer has with your brand. An ‘experience’ is considered any interaction. This includes seeing an advertisement, your logo, shopping, someone that talks about your business, customer service etc. Every interaction you have with a consumer, whether it be direct or not, it is a chance for you to ensure their perception of your brand stays positive. When a business doesn’t understand that all of their potential interactions are a way to build their brand, they ultimately fail to create a ‘brand’. Unfortunately, most business owners fail to see that.
Once you’ve lost an opportunity with the consumer, think of it like losing time. You can’t travel back to the past and change it. Although, hopefully you have another chance to modify the future but now, it’s more difficult than ever and going to be more expensive. Retaining a lost customer is always going to cost you more than gaining a new customer.
As I mentioned earlier, it can be quite complex and overwhelming. That said, here are a few questions I recommend always keeping in mind.
- How do I want people to see my business? Put yourself in their shoes.
- What do I want people to say when they talk about my business/product?
- What’s unique about my business/product compared to my competitors?
- What value does my business/product provide?
- Am I able to communicate the answers to the questions above with every interaction a consumer can have with my business/product?
Once you have your responses to these questions, integrate them with your marketing strategy. Use them as your guide as you’re implementing your strategy and be sure they correlate with every ‘interaction’ you will have with the consumer. Make sure your responses communicate themselves within your interactions. This will help make the merge of the ‘brand’ and business much smoother.
Just like operating your business, building a brand simultaneously can seem exhausting. Most business owners only focus on the operations and not the brand. What they fail to realize is that building a strong brand will only help the business and take the pressure off them. Like trying to use a TV remote without batteries. You can always walk to the TV and change the channel but if you just put batteries in the remote, it’ll make life much easier.
