Sunday, March 23, 2008

Branding...Why It's Important

All the talk about Branding these days can downright confuse a person. No, you don't need a marketing degree to understand Branding and the role it plays in your success. Let's discuss Branding, how to start and tips to help you build your brand.

What is Branding?
Marketing guru Laura Lake posted the American Marketing Association's definition of branding --- "name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers." Branding is a way for leaders and organizations to differentiate themselves from the competition.

To help clarify, let's look at the Coca Cola brand. When people hear the name Coke, many automatically think of "The Real Thing." Also, have you ever asked someone what type of coke they want? All the time meaning what type of soda would they like to drink.

How to Start
The key to developing your brand is to assess your company; and the needs and wants of your customers. Being the solution to your customer's needs is building a brand. When your customers think of your business, what are they thinking?

Tips for Branding
There are plenty of resources on the Internet to help you build your brand. In my opinion, speaking before groups is a great strategy anyone employ. Review this article for tips to help in this area.

Developing our Brand is something we all should practice. It doesn't matter how great you are or what amazing product you have. If people don't perceive that you or your product can fill their needs or wants, you are out of luck. Today, customers have many products and services to choose from ,make sure your Brand is on their minds.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ron,

I am finding myself checking your blog every day for tips and tricks. This must mean that your individual brand has become one of my favorites!

Wonderful site.

Thanks for the energy and enthusiasm you are putting out there every day.

Susan

Ron Bland said...

Susan thanks for visitng the site and I do appreciate the feedback. I'm certainly glad my blog is one of your favorites.

Ron