Logos, business cards, t-shirts and all that other paraphernalia are what I call the 10% tip of the branding iceberg that is floating atop for all to see. The other 90% which lies underneath can be divided up into three key branding factors. Customer Perception, Customer Feeling and Company Reputation. The strength, sustainability and success of any business is driven by the relationship your customers, internal or external develop after having had the opportunity to utilize your product or experience your service level time and time again.
If you’re in business for the long haul then the importance of creating a strong brand cannot be understated, as it is directly linked to all the long term benefits you want the business to achieve. Be intentional about your brand ensuring that it not only separates but stands out your business from the herd. Be sure your brand has an unforgettable affect, and it showcases your strengths and competitive advantages. Most importantly it must be a beacon of what your business values most.
The products you sell, the cleanliness of your establishment, the people you hire, the service you provide, your customer compliant resolution process. In essence every aspect of your business has a contributing factor to your brand. When developed and correctly managed these all can lead to and result in customer surveys showing positive perception and reputation numbers along with strong customer connection feedbacks.
A company focuses its energy on creating connections with its customers to ensure that they from initial engagement and onward continue to have positive wow experiences, enabling the development of a strong and effective brand. Developing a feeling of connection with your customer to your business, increases their likelihood to frequent the business and support the business via word of mouth. The customers perception and feeling to your business is no longer looked at as just filling a need, they now see value in what your brand offers.
Your brand tells your customers what your business is committed to providing them. When your business consistently delivers on its commitments, you solidify the integrity of the brand. Customers are drawn to and stick with businesses which stand by their values and can be depended upon to deliver as promised. As your customer loyalty base increases you can now look at putting in place a targeted demographics marketing strategy and consider premium pricing strategies.
Effective brand development will ultimately culminate with your business becoming a leader in the market. The resulting ripple effect increases investor confidence, notable decreases in marketing and sales cost will occur and not only will you begin to attract quality talent you will also see a sizable reduction in your employee turnover numbers. It is very easy to fall into the trap of idleness once you have arrived at this point, it is however at this juncture that your branding campaign requires a more focused attention, greater levels of consistency with product and service deliveries and the relentless persistence to maintain positive customer perceptions, positive customer feelings/connections and a positive company reputation.
Keith M. Dean
CEO/Founder
The BusinessofU
www.thebusinessofu.co