Creating something memorable. When thinking about what a brand means, we think of logos immediately.
Branding. It’s not a buzzword. The etymology of the word does leave a striking image in the mind. To leave a mark on livestock with a branding iron is a crude way to identify ownership with other not-so-nice contexts.
Despite the history and origins, it isn’t a dirty word in today’s context and should be understood and embraced to unlock your full potential.
From a holistic perspective, your brand represents an essence that translates through everything. It covers what you do and what your business is all about.
Whether it’s personal, parent, or dynamic brands, the list goes on for where it can apply.
Beyond the logo, a brand is a system of moving pieces that work together to create a feeling that leaves an impression whether you’re selling services, aspirational products, essentials, lifestyle or luxury. The list goes on.
A great brand speaks to your market(s) in a manner that captures attention.
Creating a memorable brand
It all starts and stops with understanding.
Discovering what you are through self-reflection or researching and identifying what kind of culture you want to create is essential.
Who are you? What do you do? How do you do it? Why? It seems rudimentary, yet these are the basic questions you must answer.
The best way to solve this is to organize everything into research and competitor discovery to figure out who has done it, done it well and how you fit into the mix.
This informs how you might be able to stand out.
Developing content
Standing out today requires you to go way above and beyond expectations.
You should be able to tell a story that can be embraced and lean into that to unearth a voice that matters.
Writing is an excellent place to start. It can create a way for you to build a narrative and a tone of voice for your message to be received in a way that makes sense.
You can’t fake it. Half-baked taglines and contrived writing will only get you so far with standard work to attain the status quo.
Generic stock photos won’t cut it. To make a difference and have a competitive advantage, original or inspiring work will set you apart from the pack.
Getting feedback
Your best advocate is likely a team member or customer of yours. Listening to input will be a huge part of understanding product/market fit and how you can improve what you do or offer.
Market research is helpful. This can be pretty expensive and not necessarily move the needle in one direction or the other. Decision by consensus can paralyze your ability to move quickly and efficiently.
That being said, doing some research helps inform, so do look into doing enough of it so that you can glean some insights that will be helpful.
Understanding your customer is the best way to create a brand that lasts.
Realizing your full potential
Sometimes, the best thing to do is learn when to get out of your way.
This feels counterintuitive, but it can be quite a refreshing approach. As we see at times with independent operators that are too close to the business, it does a lot for you to take a step back to get the clarity you need to optimize for success.
Building a powerful brand requires patience, time and a continuous effort to refine, adapt and grow to the shifting needs of your product or service.
Nothing is static and being flexible helps you seize any opportunities.
And the best course of action could be no brand at all. No name or generic brands is another strategy that can work depending on your situation.
Know when to follow the rules and when to break them.
The foundation
A solid identity system captures your business through a combination of parts to the whole.
From the logotype, logomark, typography, colours, design elements, supporting pieces, wording and your digital presence. They all work together to communicate your values and reinforce that image wherever it lives. In-person or online.
In the end, as it’s been said, your brand is not what you think it is or want it to be. Your brand is what others feel when they experience it or remember it.
When we think of a brand, we may imagine something as iconic as Apple or Google. Think about their brand promise and how it makes you feel. What is your perception of what they represent?
If we deconstruct what a brand does and how it does it, we can better understand how to use that information and put it to work for our benefit.
We’ve only scratched the surface here, but building an authentic brand is a process. It requires effort and patience and it should evolve with time.
