What does your brand indicate about your company? Here are some points to ponder.
You may think the concern over branding only applies to big-time conglomerates like Nike and Starbucks. But with the competition these days in business, your brand should be as important to you as your reputation, the quality of your staff, and your price.
In fact, branding is all these things. You send a message about your company every time your project managers meet with a client, a customer sees your ad, someone visits your website, and even when an employee bums around town wearing a piece of clothing with your logo.
To put it simply, ask a selection of people on the street what they think about your firm, and their answer will give you an idea of what your brand is really like. Your brand exists, whether you market it or not.
The question remains, what does your brand say about your company?
- If you’ve ever heard a rumor about your company, take notice. However ridiculous it is – even if a client tells you they heard you were going broke or your employees were all quitting– these are things that indicate your brand image.
- If you have that one particular individual in your office that is unhappy and bad-mouths your firm every time they go to the grocery store (even worse if they’re wearing your clothing while they do it) this can affect your brand.
- If you consistently have a hard time breaking into a particular market, or worse, if you lose a job that you are otherwise qualified for, consider what your brand says about you before you even get into the sales meeting.
If you suspect your brand might need a little improvment, be prepared – it takes time and considerable effort. It isn’t as simple as changing your advertising strategy or lowering your price. It takes diligence from your entire staff in order to truly be successful. Every single person in your organization needs to be on the same page and heading in the same direction. If a customer asks you what things differentiate you from the competition or what your top projects are, every single person on your staff should be able to answer this question the same way – from the receptionist, to the assistants, to the executive staff, to the project managers.
Every marketing strategy you enact should support your brand. This means advertising, clothing, publicity, and the like. Every interaction with the community and even the projects you work on should support your brand.
Your brand also reflects how you treat your employees and how they in turn treat customers. Are you impeccable with your word and are your employees, therefore, impeccable with theirs? Does your firm keep its promises – from the raise your employees were supposed to get to the date you told your customer you’d be finished with their project?
All these things work to define your brand. You can actively support your brand, or you can ignore it. Let me pose the question again – what does your brand say about your company?
