Brands are complex, ever-changing mental images, yet we all use them to make decisions about what we buy and where we buy it. When entrepreneurs understand the basic dynamics that underlie the brand-building process they can more easily create strong brands that create long-term success.
Read moreDivas Draw the Crowd: Brands are Critical
When there was only one grocery store or one auto repair shop in town your brand didn’t matter very much. If people wanted to buy food or fix their cars, they patronized the local grocery store or body shop; they had no other choice. But today we can get almost anything from dozens of similar businesses. And, for the most part, we can choose the type of purchasing experience we want: we can shop online, buy from catalogs, visit brick-and-mortar stores or watch the shopping channel. We live In an age of tremendous consumer choice. Brands make choices easier to understand. In today’s market, brands have become the critical primary driver behind our purchasing choices.
Read moreWhere do I go? What Do I Do? Brands Make Decisions
In the moment of decision, all of our positive and negative thoughts are weighed on a mental scale. If there are more pros than cons, we make a purchase. Otherwise, we don’t. But we don’t make a list of pros and cons for each product every time we visit the grocery store — a single trip would take hours! We use the brand as a mental shortcut to make these kinds of decisions very quickly. When you walk down the soda aisle in the grocery store, it may take only an instant to decide whether to buy Coke or Pepsi or Sprite or something else. You don’t have to read the labels — the brand makes it possible to make these quick purchasing decisions.
Read moreIs It Worth the Price? Brands are Perception
As an entrepreneur, you must define expectations that clearly create a perception of value. If you are going to offer expensive products or services, you must make that clear through every facet of the customer experience. Otherwise, your customers will not assume that the price you charge accurately reflects the worth of your products and services. And if you want people to think that your products and services are bargains, you must also generate those expectations. Before we see the price tag, we already have an idea of what something should cost. The price tag only confirms or contradicts the perception of value that we have already developed.
Read moreThe Sum of its Parts: Brands Develop Over Time
As you develop your business, you will need to plan how you want your brand to be perceived over the long term and understand how to change your brand as needs dictate. Many small businesses create a brand and then stop, hoping that the initial push will be enough to generate business far into the future. But as competitors arrive and new trends emerge, a brand must revitalize itself to stay present in the minds of existing and potential customers.
Read moreIf It Feels Good, Do It: Brands Create Feelings and Beliefs
The same will be true for your business — the brand you create will be compared to all the other brands in the marketplace, and this comparison will determine whether or not anyone does business with your company. In order to establish a strong brand in the minds of potential customers, you must develop certain feelings and beliefs that potential customers may use to generate expectations and rationalize a purchase.
Read moreA World Without Labels: Brands Provide Information
Each entrepreneur must offer a rationale for every purchase. It may be as simple as a label, or it may be a cultivated, long-term relationship with a salesperson. But however it’s delivered, this information becomes the catalyst for making a decision. As you create a brand for your business, you must clearly provide information about your products and services, describing how they compare with others in the marketplace. In our information-rich society, the difference between success and failure may be the quality of information that potential consumers receive.
Read moreBranding Vocabulary: A Summary of Terms and Definitions
A brand is a mental image that includes everything an individual thinks and feels about an organization. Lots of pieces make up this complex puzzle; understanding the basic components is the first step in building a strong, long-lasting brand and a valuable customer base.
Read moreMarketing vs. Branding: Confusing Terms, Clearly Defined
"Branding" refers to long-term activities that speak to everyone, including your employees, vendors and the media. "Marketing" activities use your brand to appeal to a particular group of people for a specific reason, usually for a predetermined length of time.
Read moreBranding: It Ain't Just For Cowboys
A brand is a mental image. “Branding” is the full set of activities that entrepreneurs engage in to build these mental images. Branding includes everything from your website and your signs to the way your store looks and the way your employees treat your customers. Branding also includes polices and procedures — infrastructure that ensures your brand will be maintained for the life of your business.
Read moreA Mental Image: The Brain is Where the Brand Lives
Brands are products of the mind. And just as each of us has our own thoughts and feelings, each of us carries a slightly different mental image for each of the companies we interact with, formed from all of the communications we see and every experience we have. These mental images — which we call "brands" — are the tools we use to make decisions about what we will buy and who we will do business with. As such, they are critical to the success of every entrepreneur.
Read moreEvery Entrepreneur Must Do These Two Things
A little girl puts a table in her front yard. She sets out glasses and a big pitcher of lemonade and ties a few balloons to the back of a chair, letting them bounce in a breeze that provides only a little relief from the summer sun. If you walked by and saw her, what would you assume? You might think she was setting up for a friend’s birthday party. You might wonder if she was getting ready for a teddy bear conference. But if you see her hang a big sign on the front of the table that announces, “Ice Cold Lemonade, just $1.00!” the mystery would be solved — you know that this little girl is embarking on an entrepreneurial venture.
Read moreGreat Brands: Raven + Lily
Earlier this week I wrote a post about building a brand by telling a story. Sometimes the story is about an innovative company founder. Sometimes the story is one of revolutionary products. But once in a while a story emerges that combines the two: a founder with a vision and products that change the way we interact with the world.
Read moreA New Experience: Differentiate a Brand with New Experiences
For a long time, products and services themselves were sufficient. But today, the rise of competition has fundamentally altered the marketplace. As innumerable products and services vie for our attention and our custom, novel experiences have emerged as one of the primary ways for brands to differentiate themselves. If your brand can be part of a sensual or emotional experience, you may be able to create a significant point of differentiation in the mind of your customers.
Read moreCreating A New Order: Differentiate A Brand By Creating A Ritual
Is there a brand of cookie you eat a certain way? If you remove one side of a chocolate sandwich cookie and eat the creamy center before you munch on the delicious, crunchy exterior, advertising may have taught you how. Beauty brands also create rituals: from bronzer to beard oil, concealer to cologne, these companies create products that become part of our daily routines. What ritual can you create for your brand? Will doing things in a new way help your customers? Can your products find a way into our daily habits? Will creating a new habit differentiate your brand from your competitors?
Read moreTell Me A Story: Differentiate a Brand with Narrative
Every brand and every product has a story. For some, this story provides a wonderful way to differentiate a brand. When a brand comes from a long tradition or has evolved over many decades, the brand story can take on a life of its own. But newer brands have stories too. The unique way that products are made or designed can separate one product from another in profound ways. People love stories; brands that provide them can capture a unique place in the mind.
Let’s Get Personal… Differentiate a Brand by Adding a Personality
Does your reputation preceded you? Do people turn to look when you enter a room? You may be able to differentiate your brand by becoming its public face. People have a hard time connecting with corporations, but they can, and do, feel connected to the real people that lead those businesses. Even a fictional personality can make a brand more accessible and less abstract in the mind. A personal approach to brand differentiation can make it easier for consumers to relate to what you sell, and can create a clear point of differentiation between your company and all the rest.
Read moreThere's Nothing Like Style: Differentiate a Brand by Creating an Aesthetic
Most brands create at least some amount of aesthetic. The logo and brand identity demonstrate a point of view that can be hip or serious or fun — it provides a glimpse into the psychological position that the brand is attempting to develop. But many companies take this much further. Small businesses can do the same. When an entrepreneur goes out of her way to develop a unique aesthetic, the brand is more easily remembered.
Read moreUnited By A Single Purpose: Differentiate A Brand By Creating A Community
Building a brand community is one of the most effective and influential ways to spread the message of your organization. By creating an identity for your customers you can create a sense of belonging. Groups give us identity and a goal — two powerful motivators. When you harness these psychological dynamics, you can energize your customer base and inspire deep loyalty. Today we'll take a look a the three critical steps entrepreneurs must take in order to build a brand community.
Read moreHow Do They See Me? Six Ways to Create A Unique Brand
How am I different? Why should anyone choose my business? What do I offer that is unique or special? These are some of the most difficult questions for entrepreneurs to answer. But in an age of unlimited consumer choice, the answers are what makes one brand successful and dooms another to failure. Calling attention to your business is the only way that customers understand what you have to offer, and differentiating yourself from the competition is the best way to build a customer base in the modern age of innumerable brands.
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