Brand As Second Skin

One ROI for a strong consumer brand is the fact that many people purchase products based on their perceived self-image. Some brands are so strong that individuals identify with them. They believe that they deliver more than the immediate use they were intended. In essence the brand speaks to them.

Does your brand speak to your customers? Is the relationship you share with them go much further than service delivery? We should all be striving to build cache with our audiences.

To many in our society, it is extremely important that their individuality be identified with their favored brands. The clothes they wear, the cars they drive and the smart devices they carry. These are the world brands they identify with. What about the brands closer to home? What financial institutions they engage, or which consultants they embrace? In every purchase decision there are brand decisions. Consumers identify with success. Nobody wants to hitch their wagon to a brand that doesn't resonate with their self-image. This is the case at every level.

Look in the mirror and see if your favored world brands don't match your local brand choices. Society views you by which brands you wear in every facet of your life. It is one way that their perception of you is built. Perception is their reality of your brand.

The Real Meaning of "Re-Brand."

The brand you have today, is the brand you had yesterday and it will be the brand you have tomorrow unless you change the promise you made to your customers. What the re-branders should be saying is they are updating their brand presentation. You would change your brand presentation to update your look to reflect current culture and changing direction your company is currently experiencing.

Great examples of companies who have changed their brand's presentation are:

Apple changed their name from Apple Computer to simply Apple to reflect the different areas they now dominate like smart phone, digital music etc. The logo was simplified to reflect this change.

Kentucky Fried Chicken updated it's name to an acronym (KFC) reflecting a young attitude. It's graphics are also bolder, more dynamic.

Pepsi altered their center white ribbon to one that "pulls" to the right representing future movement.

All of these three examples changed their image to reflect a current position. They did not change the essence of their brands. Re-branding would mean starting from scratch and throwing away what-ever reputation you have earned to date. You'd be wiser to shut the doors and come back as an entirely new company.

Joe IS The Company!

What if you were to die tonight? Would you company cease to exist tomorrow? If so, then it's obvious that all of the client relationships with key clients rests with you. This exclusive dependance on YOU can have a devastating impact on your brand. Since YOU are the brand - it all rides on your staying around forever.

All of your stakeholders rely on you and your exclusive relationships. As much as it gets you the billings you need to grow the brand, it is a ticking time-bomb. Maybe your long-term plan is to sell the company at some point and bow out. But what you may not have predicted is the fact that since clients rely on YOU, can you be so sure that they will accept being "sold" to another party. Chances are greater that they will walk. I have a colleague who had exactly this happen to them. It immediately killed their succession plans. It was a rude awakening. When they did sell, it was for "substantially" less, because the book of business was not assured.

All of your employees, suppliers and dependents will suffer needlessly unless you act now to bring on a lieutenant and instill the values and work ethics than each client has grown to love in you. Your brand needs another YOU to succeed long after you've departed.

DAY NINETEEN: Brand Booster 21

"Get Out There And Nurture Your Brand" - thats the call to arms today in The Branding Experts' and Small Business Branding's 21 day branding lessons.

How Branding Can Impact Your Bottom Line

So - you've decided it's time to cast your own shadow. You are an entrepreneur at heart, and you've got the encouragement of family and friends. You've talked to an accountant and corporate lawyer. You signed a lease on a great new office, and it's decorated beautifully. You've joined the appropriate local business clubs and lined up a modest operating line with the bank.
You have a cool name, and logo, and you're ready to launch.

Or are you?

Read more of this article I've just posted over at Startupnation.com...

Have Friends - Will Travel!

What do you do when you are offered an opportunity, but you are unable to fulfill it? It would be a bad move to take it on then take the risk of fouling it up and damaging your brand. Sometimes our skill sets are not complimentary with an opportunity offered. BUT we have friends or colleagues who have the desired experience.

It is important that you build relationships with your industry for just this reason. All too often, business people are very paranoid to build alliances. We all hear about partnering but putting it into action takes trust in someone you essentially don't know. Myself, I give the benefit of a doubt. Through blogging I've met a good number of people whom I've targeted as potential partners of future projects - as yet unknown.

Off-line, I've also developed professional relationships that will definitely help to put another dollar in my pocket. A great recent example of this was an email I got first thing in the morning last Friday. The writer was looking for good advice on a branding issue concerning non-profits. This is an area I have little experience with. I wouldn't dream of faking it and trying to figure it out later. My goal is to try and find the writer a solution to their problem. They found me by googling and choosing my web-site to begin their journey.

The writer was a Canadian organization with a interesting dilemma. From the initial discussion, I offered to help by referencing my resources to pull in the right experienced party to solve the problem on the table. I am located in Leamington, Ontario Canada - across from Detroit, Michigan. I contacted an associate of mine in Cincinnatti/Northern Kentucky who has a partner in Minneapolis/St. Paul who has exactly the experience needed. The Writer hailed from our nation's capitol - Ottawa.

So, in the course of an hour the writer went from a blind contact to potentially finding a solution to their problem., crossing an international border. It was accomplished with help of affiliates all working together to find opportunities to solving brand issues where ever they may occur. Of course this is networking on a global scale, but suffice to say it works. I have access to specific talents in Tampa, Florida - Toledo and Cincinnati, Ohio - Brisbane, Australia - Chicago and Troy-Michigan to name a few. Of course by extension, you have trusted access to their affiliates. This is "Linked-in" on a more personal and professional level. It doesn't only apply to places far and wide but also locally with trusted contacts.

I'm not a secretive person and I dislike egos and game playing. In the spirit of trust, I enjoy the challenge of finding a solution that is asked of me. It makes my brand more powerful if I am able to develop solutions for any number of industries. It's like they say about hiring employees - hire those smarter than you. The same holds true for building your brand, build the walls with strength with yourself as the foundation.