What is a Brand and what it takes to build one?
It is known that experts do not share a common view of what “brand” means. There are at least 30 definitions for it. Only recently the word “brand” has been used more; it wasn’t until the beginning of the 20th century that became predominant, when the first consultancies appeared. But, what is a Brand? Brand, according to Interbrand’s homonymous article is what identifies a product or service as belonging to a certain entity.
Modern brands are the result of branding activity. It is recognition that is branding’s function. If the recognition is adequate, branding can infuse persuasion and loyalty by providing orientation, fostering trust, and enabling self- expression. A promise is a prerequisite of a strong brand and part of the branding strategy. A solid definition helps clarify which of a company’s actions can be classified as “branding” and which can’t. Brands do not exist outside of the entity creating them and, therefore, good branding should pay special attention to both the entity and its associates. Brands are the aggregation of expressions through which an entity wants to be recognized. By removing any word, the definition loses its meaning or becomes imprecise, while any additional word would be redundant or unnecessary. Loading expressions with meaning is what makes or breaks a good brand — and often, a good company.
But, what is essential for a brand? To create a Brand, a catchy logo is a must-have, as well as a recognizable color theme. Specific identity and consistent pattern is also of vital importance, so for the Brand to be remembered. Mindful image selection, careful pick of domain name and branded links are also necessary. For this process to become a success story, deliberate website design, representative content and social media involvement are required.
What about value proposition? It includes a promise of value to be delivered that builds up stronger competition against antagonists. A value proposition must include a clear object of the business, working operation, target audience and everything that makes the business stand out.
How do we determinate the value proposition? First of all, we have to understand which our target group is. After getting to know our consumers’ needs and goals, we create the best qualified brand that reciprocate to them.
Creating a buyer persona seems to be of vital need for a company too. We need statistics, job hierarchy, customer’s daily routine, customer’s concerns, information sources and customer’s hesitation to purchase to build a buyer persona. But, how we use them? At first, we create highly targeted content. Then, we smartly place content where potential buyers will see them. We draw buyers’ attention with witty ads, images and links. We provide customer insight, improve the quality of the persona over time and design products and services based on the target persona.
Considering all of these, creating a brand is about deeply understanding your business and building an emotional connection between you and your customers. It is a step-by-step process, with lots of different angles and needs full commitment from the company’s team.
