What is a Brand?
The symbol for a brand is its trademark. The brand itself is all the tangible and intangible attributes that are the essence of a company, its heart and soul. The brand is the foundation on which every customer experience with the company is built.

The branding process aligns a company's business plan with its products and services. When properly managed, branding creates value and influence.

Develop your brand and align it with your business strategy to:

+ extend market share,
+ build barriers to competition,
+ motivate your workforce,
+ ensure greater performance and profit,
+ attract and recruit top talent

Why is it important?

Your brand is ultimately your reputation. It begins with the promise you make, and therefore, the promise you must keep.

Much more than a visual face or public identity, the brand is about human nature and success behavior. It lives in every member of an organization, advancing your common vision and mission.

The brand is a performance measured and recorded in every encounter with your constituents, including customers, investors, employees, business partners, and media.

Brand Identity

The terms brand and brand identity have become ubiquitous to the point that their meaning has become blurred. A brand identity system is composed of many elements that are related yet distinctly different. As brand architects we add clarity to the process of brand identity development.

    Brand Image: How the brand is now perceived

    Brand Identity: How marketers want the brand to be perceived

    Brand Position: The part of the brand identity and value proposition to be actively communicated to the customer

An organization's brand identity needs to be a complete understanding of what the brand stands for. It is much more than a slogan or an advertising tag line. The goal is to develop an extended identity system that has the texture and depth needed to guide the brand-building effort. A company's brand identity is more than a collection of product attributes. It encompasses brand personality, organizational associations, and brand symbols.

"Hey, this sounds like a lot more work than I need, I'm just a small town shop!"

Don't worry, establishing a brand can be easier than a lot of firms make you think. Here are some tips:

A small business should look at 4 things when they create their Brand Definition:

Who You Are: Your business's personality (which, in a small business, often comes partially from the business owner), your values, and your vision.
What You Do: The products and/or services you provide, and the form in which you provide them. What problem do you solve for your customers?
What Makes You Different: This will probably boil down to a niche market and some of the specific elements of your business's personality that really make you shine.
Who You Can Best Help: Also known as your target market — who you can make the most impact on, and who you want to work with. Who will get the most out of working with you? And who do you most enjoy working with?

Once you've defined your brand, you still have to create your marketing materials. Here are 5 steps to branding your small business — the process that you should go through to create a brand that catches your prospects' attention.

1. Define Who You Are, What You Do, What Makes You Different, Your Target Audience and Your Business's Personality
2. Design Your Logo and Brand Identity To Communicate Your Brand Definition
3. Develop Your Website and Marketing Communications Collateral
4. Distinguish Your Business from the Crowd
5. Direct Your New Brand So That it Can Reach Its Fullest Potential

If you address all 5 of these steps when you create your Brand Identity and marketing designs, you'll create a professional brand for your business that will make it easy for you to build credibility for your small business. A professional brand identity communicates your company's purpose and promises, increases your memorability and drives sales.