Some Branding Thoughts

I find myself talking about branding a fair bit. I always have.

But that is because I am fairly insistent on what we mean by branding. Most people are not too bad at understanding some aspects of it. Logo design. Consistent use of all visuals through your website, your letter head, your brochures - and maybe further, including staff uniforms, and office decor.

People continue to nod in agreement when you say it is more than these things too.

Some brands stand out, don't they. Everyone knows them. They stand across the globe as businesses that have done a good job of branding. Each year, various organisations publish lists of the top brands. I do not always agree with the precise choices for inclusion on these lists. But there are seldom huge surprises on there.

These top brands have done the visuals well. The marketing campaigns well. The communication of the brand - they have done that well too.

But wait. That last bit. Communicating the brand. They must have had something to communicate. Something of value. Something precise to say. Something for the customer. Otherwise, it is all hot air, and customers spot hot air very quickly indeed.

And this is the point. Your brand must mean something tanglible, something that plays out in the experience of your business. This needs to happen with consistency, just like the use of your logo needs to be consistent.

Because the customer experience will, ultimately, define what people believe your brand to be.