Branding Yourself

BrandYourself With the Help of NuProfile

Branding yourself and your company is one of the single most important things you can do to establish yourself in any industry. Building a brand the right way, from the start, is a critical task to ensure that your company will be able to withstand the test of time. What is a brand, and how do you do it?

A brand is:

• Your promise to your customer

• Who you are

• Who you want to be

• How you are different from your competitors

• How you want to be perceived

Your Brand’s Foundation

The foundation of your brand lies in your logo. Your website, promotional materials, packaging, and other items should all use your logo to communicate your brand. Your logo should take into account your industry, colors designed to evoke certain emotions, and memorability. Once you develop your logo, stick with it for consistency.

You must develop a brand strategy to determine how, what, where, when and to whom you plan on communicating with to deliver your brand messages. What you communicate visually and verbally are part of your brand strategy is well.

With consistent and strategic branding you will create a strong brand equity which will add value to your company’s products and services. The additional value will allow you to change charge more for what identical and unbranded products command. A clear example is tissue. Kleenex for example, can charge you more than a generic facial tissue for the simple fact that when you think of tissue when you get a cold, Kleenex is the first thing that comes to your mind.

Defining your brand

Define your brand is not something that happens overnight. It can be a long and difficult road because it involves having to answer many questions that are not necessarily easy to answer. When defining your brand consider:

• Your company’s mission

• The benefits and features of your products or services

• What people already think about your company

• What qualities you want people to associate with your company

Take your time here as your brand defines not only your company itself, but how long it can survive in an ever-changing industry. Do your research and make sure you know what your customers are thinking not just what you think they’re thinking. Knowing your customer is key to ensuring that you have a solid business.

Protecting your brand

Though establishing your brand may seem like the most difficult part of business, your brand means nothing if it isn’t protected. Beyond the traditional protective measures such as copyright, patent, and trademark, you need to think long term.

In order for your business to succeed in the long term, you must to take steps to protect your brand. This means establishing company policy to ensure all employees are held to a strict code of conduct and watching your online reputation. The Internet is a place where anybody can say anything at anytime. Knowing what people are saying about your company is a key way to protect your brand. If you have a negative online reputation, you will see it reflected in your bottom line because of the loss of profits.

Hiring an online reputation management company can help you see who is saying what about you and address negative customer experiences before they have a chance to wreak havoc on your image and brand. It is better to invest in these services before something bad happens, because more work will need to be done to re-establish a positive reputation after the fact. Don’t wait until something bad happens that endangers your brand equity and survival.