Corporate Brand

Branding is one of the most important aspects of any business, large or small, retail or service. An effective brand strategy gives you a major edge in increasingly competitive markets. But what exactly does "branding" mean? How does it affect a business?

Simply put, your brand is your promise to your customer. It tells them what they can expect from your products and services, and it differentiates your offering from your competitors'. Your brand is derived from who you are, who you want to be and who people perceive you to be.

Are you the innovative maverick in your industry? Or the experienced, reliable one? Is your product the high-cost, high-quality option, or the low-cost, high-value option? You can't be both, and you can't be all things to all people. Who you are should be based to some extent on who your target customers want and need you to be.

Branding, in the classic sense of the word, is all about creating unique identities and positions for products and services, hence distinguishing the offerings from competitors'. A brand promises a result and experience you can count on. Most people understand and accept that companies and products have brands and images, which become part of the mental picture in their clients’ minds. Additionally, individuals in certain professions develop brands (i.e. surgeons, attorneys, authors, sales professionals) and have built client bases around them.

A strong corporate branding strategy can add significant value in terms of helping the entire corporation and the management team to implement the long-term vision, create unique positions in the market place of the company and its brands and not the least to unlock the leadership potential within the organisation.

A Corporate Brand is made up of the combination of the thoughts, feelings, beliefs, opinions and visions people have about you, your products and services or your company.

Note: It is what others think and feel about your business, not what you think or what your sales literature and sales staff say. Your image might precede your actual contact with a prospect, but it will certainly follow all customer contacts and set the stage for future interactions. Consequently, even the smallest of companies should be aware of and do whatever is appropriate to promote its image.