Logo Quiz Answers #02

Pop quiz! If you have to say goodbye to your hard earned money to purchase something you've always wanted, who would you rather trust: an unknown provider or one who has an established name in the industry?

The answer to that question shows how important branding has become in recent years. And consequently, brand building has taken an equal significance.

Brand building consists of all the things you do to establish a good image for your business venture. A brand carries with it an aura of credibility and reliability that screams how your enterprise guarantees to deliver.

Brand building would also pave the way for product association. For example, when you think of toothpaste, Colgate immediately comes to mind. When someone mentions soda, you instantaneously form an image of a bottle of Coca-Cola in your head.

It goes without saying that your business' brand can make or break its success. A good brand can rake in those orders faster than any of the known marketing strategies. A non-existent brand would mean many years of difficult struggle just to consummate a sale. A substandard brand would be tantamount to the death of the business.

Of all the different marketing tools out there, the most nebulous, and also the most misunderstood, are these two -- branding and positioning.

And since they're misunderstood, they aren't used correctly, leading to all sorts of problems.

Branding and positioning are extremely powerful. Used correctly, you will magically attract your ideal clients to you. Used incorrectly, and that same power can destroy your business.

So, let's talk definitions. First, branding. No I'm not talking about logos, colors or slogans. Yes that's a part of branding. But branding is a lot more then that.

Branding is really about your business's core identity. (Not your personal core identity, your business's core identity). That's probably the easiest way to explain it. And yes I'm simplifying it some -- but hang with me.

Branding is what your business represents. What your business is all about. Once you know this, and you have a strong core identity, the logos and colors and slogans all fall into place. But you need to have that core identity first.

First off, write down everything your business represents to you. What you do, why this is important to your clients, what your vision is, what you feel your gifts/brilliance is, etc.

Next, write down what you want your clients to think of when they think of you. Write down everything, not just "good service and high quality." I want you to write down things like "trustworthy, high sense of integrity and honor, expert in the field." Things like that.

Now, I want you to go talk to your clients. Ask them why they hired you. Ask them how they would describe you to someone else. Ask them what they would say if they were recommending you to someone else. Ask them how they differentiate you from your competition.

Now compare the lists. What do you like? What don't you like? What "feels" right? What doesn't "feel" like you or where you want to go with your business?