Archive for the ‘Branding’ Category

I get by with a little help from my friends…

Friday, October 13th, 2006

Chances are you want friends, you like the friends you have, and would love to make some more of them. And because you do, you’ve refined your personality over the years so that it attracts people rather than repeals them. You’ve self-diagnosed, so to speak. You’ve taken the hints from the people that love you, as well as those that don’t, and you’ve done some tweaking and refining. This tweaking and refining has made you who you are today. It is how people have come to know, like, and respect you.

I suppose you could make a case for those who don’t care what people think of them, and we all know these people. However, for the sake of argument, lets assume that we all would like a few more friends. Besides, we are using your persona as a metaphor for that of your business. So even if you don’t want loyal friends, chances are you do want loyal customers.

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Who owns your brand???

Thursday, October 12th, 2006

Do you realize that you don’t own your brand? Your brand lives in the hearts and mind of your clients.

They have an impression of your company and your company’s products and/or services and that is your brand. It is what they believe you are, not what you tell them you are.

So, who or what has the most impact on your brand? Is it your advertising and marketing materials? Is it your product and/or service? Or could it be your staff?

Actually it is all of the above. Your product, service, and staff need to deliver on the promise made in your marketing and advertising messages. If they don’t, your clients will have a brand disconnect. They will feel that they were promised one thing and given another. Can anyone say bait and switch?

So, for a brand to be successful, you need to make sure you deliver on the promises made by your advertising and marketing. You don’t have to be the best, McDonalds has sold billions of average (some would say below average) hamburgers, you just have to deliver on your promise and be consistent.