The brand is at the heart of the business. Its services, it customers, its strategies all come back to affect it. The relationship is reciprocal, so a strong brand can help you enhance everything in return. However, a lot of people consider “branding” synonymous with “marketing” or “advertising”. The truth is that you have to a lot further than pop-up ads, videos, social media, and the website to create a truly strong brand.
Getting out and about
Visibility is crucial. Not just in marketing and catching attention. Attending public networking and publicity events with branded trade show booths shines a whole new spotlight on the business. It’s not just being seen by more people. It’s being seen alongside the other heavy hitters of the industry. It’s giving a prestige and validity that will never be held by the businesses that fail to show.
Be the leader
Don’t think it’s all on your shoulders, either. It’s likely that you, as a business owner, might not be the one constantly on the front lines dealing with customers and inquiries. That task might fall to your staff. Turning your team into brand advocates is essential, in the regard. Teaching them their lines isn’t enough. You should make sure they know the goals of the company, that they’re on side and that they’re invested in its success. Keep the brand mission a constant part of the goals of the team and invest in them in return. If they feel like part of the family, they’ll defend it like they are.
Have the space you deserve
Sometimes, a business’s brand can be rather dramatically deflated simply by getting a look at where it operates. Small, unbranded, unorganized spaces will not make you look like the professional outfit you brand yourself as. Get some office movers, find a space that better fits the image you want for the business, and make it your own. Decorate it as according to not just brand imagery but principles. For instance, if your brand focuses on the creativity of the team, allow the team some creativity in designing their own space.
Are you a known quantity?
Your employees and how they represent the brand matter. But the buck will always stop at you and people will always look at you to be at the helm of the ship. To that end, convince them the wheel is in the hands of a pro. Build your personal brand even as you work on the business brand. Find opportunities to speak, to write, to contribute to the image that you are an expert in your field. The business will get the same reputation.
Practice what you preach
A false brand falls away at the first sign of trouble. Simply put, you can’t create a brand that doesn’t represent the reality of the business. Make sure you set standards in the business that always hold it up to the image.
Without giving your business’s brand the comprehensive level of support it deserves, it will never be the shining star that you want it to be. Hopefully, you see a few strategies above that can help you take the business to the next level.
