This is a very common question. Well at it's essence a brand is a brand is how your customer FEELS about your business.
People buy a $6.00 coffee from Starbucks not because the coffee is better, but because of how they FEEL when they buy a coffee at Starbucks. In todays over saturated market is more important to know how your customer feels about you and your business, it's even more important than knowing why you're different to the competition. The bottom line is people buy from people they like, and if they like your business they will buy from you.
A customer experience represented by a collection of images and ideas; often, it refers to a symbol such as a name, logo, slogan, and design scheme. Brand recognition and other reactions are created by the accumulation of experiences with the specific product or service, both directly relating to its use, and through the influence of advertising, design, and media commentary. A brand is a symbolic embodiment of all the information connected to a company, product or service. A brand serves to create associations and expectations among products made by a producer. A brand often includes an explicit logo, fonts, color schemes, symbols, sound which may be developed to represent implicit values, ideas, and even personality.
The brand, and "branding" and brand equity have become increasingly important components of culture and the economy, now being described as "cultural accessories and personal philosophies".
As I've said many times before - you have a brand whether you know it or not. What you can do is focus your brand so that you have a better opportunity to deliver a brand experience that customers will love and potential customers will be intrigued by. Let's take a look at some brand basics.
Take a close look at your company and why it exists in your market. What is your story? Sometimes the product or service that we are selling has a positive benefit within our local communities. If this sounds like you, then part of your brand experience is how you benefit the community. You are now selling something with a by-product involving a social benefit. A recycler would fit into this model nicely. This would make an outstanding brand story.
Company names and the use of monograms. If you'd like to use initials as your name be sure that, that is how you answer your telephone and it is how you are known. Many times companies use a monogram as their logo but answer the phone as a full or partial name. This is absolutely confusing to your customers. Personally I frown on monograms because they say nothing about what your company does. It doesn't inspire. However, over time after a brand has matured, monograms take on a meaningful life of their own. Examples could be IBM, A&P and BMW. None of these companies started out this way. As a fall back, you could adopt a monogram as an icon that works with the main name.
What can you do to strengthen your brand image? One excellent way is to choose a color icon. ING Direct does it with orange. UPS with brown. Use a color palette that uniquely identifies your company within its market environment. Take a look at all the competition and choose a color that all the rest are not using and then incorporate that color in everything that you do. Another thing to remember is to make sure that all your marketing materials portray a professional brand image. Every item should be consistent. There is nothing more important than this when you want your audience to take you seriously as a professional. An inconsistent brand image not only confuses the viewer but does nothing to help build your brand story. You want to build a culture of familiarity. Over time the viewer builds a comfort level and trust with your brand image.
As with your brand image your brand logo identifies who you are. If it has been professionally developed it will be consistent with your color icons and total brand image. Your brand logo should position your company from an emotional vantage point. In the hands of a professional, your logo can make your company look bigger if you wish. It can position you as a progressive or a traditional company. How old a company do you want to appear? Your brand logo communicates on an emotional level. Your brand logo is the introduction to your over all brand experience. Be sure it tells the story you want told. Amateurs design logos as art. Brand professionals design communications solutions - there is a huge and costly difference. The cost is price of communicating an effective brand message.
Your personal brand is every bit as important to your overall corporate brand in that it too must be consistent with what your brand stands for. If you have taken the time to discover and analyze your corporate brand, the brand values you possess should be a part of your personal brand as well. In your day-to-day operation of your company, how you are perceived also impacts your overall brand experience for your customers. Whether they trust you, enjoy your company or look to you for advice speaks to how successfully you've grown your brand. Since you are your brand, it benefits you to stay on top of every touch point of it.
These are just some of the Brand Basics you should adopt to increase sales with a successful brand.