Amy Will - Launching & Building a Brand For Dummies

Small businesses to large corporations often brand themselves to

Differentiate themselves from competitors

Increase recognition among customers and clients, investors, suppliers, potential partners or associates, and other stakeholders

Build a strong positive reputation

Attract high-quality job applicants

Facilitate the introduction of new products

Generate press coverage

Charge a premium for offering something different and better

Increase the market value of the business

The focus of corporate branding is mostly on mission, values, relationships, and the business’s culture. Regardless of the size of the business, the goal is to position itself as a respected and valued member of the community — the industry or market in which it operates and the world overall.

Corporate brands are slow to build and slow to change. You’re building the brand the entire time you’re building the business. Every decision you make from the time you name the business contributes to the brand, including the suppliers you choose, the people you hire, the culture that develops within the company, how you interact with customers, and your choice of businesses to associate with.

A product is anything that’s manufactured for sale to consumers. A product brand is the distinct value of a specific product in the minds of consumers; the product is different from and better in some way than something else the consumer could spend money on. The purpose of branding a product is to

Differentiate it from competing products

Make it easily recognizable

Increase loyalty among consumers

Compel consumers to pay more for the product

The focus of product branding is differentiation — making the product stand out in the marketplace. You build a product brand through product development, packaging, and messaging — everything that contributes to the consumer’s perception of the product.

Although corporate brands are slow to build and slow to change, new product brands can be developed quickly and often undergo rebranding.

A service involves doing something for someone, so how can you possibly brand a service? Usually, you brand the service provider — the business or person providing the service. The purposes of creating a service are very similar to those for creating a business or personal brand:

Differentiating the service and service provider from competing services

Building credibility (demonstrating that the service provider is qualified)

Building trust (showing that the service provider is reputable and reliable)

Charging a premium for superior service

With a service brand, your efforts focus mostly on the following credibility- and trust-building activities:

Earning certifications, awards, and other credentials and then getting them in front of customers, such as posting them on your website and mentioning them in brochures

Presenting content that demonstrates your knowledge and expertise, such as articles, blog posts, social media posts, photos, videos, podcasts, and white papers

Engaging with customers and prospects to answer questions and solve problems to further demonstrate your knowledge and expertise

Soliciting and posting testimonials or positive reviews from satisfied customers

Getting positive reviews from journalists, business organizations, and other trusted sources

Like corporate brands, service brands are slow to build and slow to change. Your brand continues to evolve as your service evolves. As you introduce new services or develop ways to provide the same services faster, more conveniently, or more affordably, your brand evolves.

A personal brand is one that develops around a person. You already have a personal brand: your reputation. People may know you as a sharp-dressing, punctual overachiever; a careless, fun-loving creative; a devoted parent and respected member of the community; or something else entirely. In a career or business, people develop personal brands to

Increase demand for a product or service they provide

Further their career

Expand their opportunities

Build credibility and trust

Establish themselves as thought leaders

With a personal brand, your efforts focus mostly on the following activities:

Discovering who you really are and finding your most attractive (and in-demand) traits, knowledge, and skills

Expressing, in a genuine way, who you are, what you do, and what makes you so special Fake it till you make it doesn’t work; people will eventually see past the façade.

Being your best you — you are your business and your product, so you need to embrace learning and self-improvement

Building a strong portfolio, which may involve earning credentials, developing or gathering samples of your work, or soliciting customer testimonials or reviews — anything that demonstrates success in your field

Attending or speaking at industry events and other opportunities to get your name and face in front of people

Presenting content that demonstrates your knowledge and expertise — articles, blog posts, social media posts, photos, videos, podcasts, white papers, and so on

Engaging with customers and prospects to answer questions and solve problems to further demonstrate your knowledge and expertise

You’re constantly developing your personal brand whenever you do anything that affects other people in any way. Whether you’re working as an employee or freelancer, launching your own website, posting content on your social media accounts, or driving through town, all your engagement with others contributes to your brand.

The brand types I’ve covered to this point are all business and commercial. Other brand types include the following:

Public brand: One owned by the government, such as the Internal Revenue Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Central Intelligence Agency

Nongovernmental organization brand: One owned by a not-for-profit organization that isn’t affiliated with any government group, such as the Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Anywhere, Ceres, and the American Heart Association (AHA)

Event brand: One created to attract participants, attendees, and sponsors, such as Burning Man, NASCAR, the Olympics, and the Cannes Film Festival

If you’re planning to create several related brands, you need to choose the brand architecture that establishes how they’re related. You have two options:

Branded house (monolithic) consists of a master brand (usually, a company) with multiple subbrands (typically, divisions, product families, products, or services), all of which ride the coattails of the master brand. Virgin has several subbrands, including Virgin Records, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Mobile, Virgin Comics, Virgin Wines, and Virgin Care.