Small Business Building: What is a Brand?

When customers hear your company’s name, what thought comes to their mind? Do they think of your friendly staff? Maybe a great price on a product? Free shipping? Excellent technical support?

If you are a budding entrepreneur with a great idea for a product or service and you’re ready to build a website to launch your online business, then add branding to your list of things to do for starting an online business.  If you already have an online business and it isn’t succeeding like you want it to, then it’s time to start branding.

What is a Brand?
A Brand is more than a logo. A logo is a symbol. A brand is a promise.  Your logo doesn’t mean much if you don’t have a solid brand. A brand is used to create trust between your company and your customer. When they think about your company, you want an automatic impression to come to their mind.

A campaign can have a brand. A company can have a brand. An individual can have a brand. Logos, advertising campaigns, and websites are used to create a brand. Some well-known brands include BMW, Coke, McDonalds, and Ferrari.

Why Should you Care about Branding?
Branding can help make your online business successful. How? A brand will help build trust between you and your customers. This trust leads to loyalty. Loyal customers become raving fans of a product or service and start to advertise for you—t-shirts, hats, bumper stickers, and the all important word of mouth.

Are you willing to pay more for a product if it was created by a brand you trust? Look at the clothes you wear, the car you drive, the food you purchase. Why did you purchase those items? In part at least, your purchase was based off of the brand name— you trust the makers of those products.

Can your customers trust your company? Do they feel like they know your company? A strong brand introduces your company to your customers. The customer can relate with your company on an emotional level if you’ve got a strong brand.

To build a brand you’ve got to create a brand. After you’ve created a brand, you’ve got to market it to your employees first, and then the rest of the world. In order to keep your brand intact, you’ve got to keep the promise(s) of your brand. So, what is Your Company’s Brand? If you’re not sure, don’t worry. This series of articles will help you determine your company’s brand and how to market it.

Don’t let your company get swallowed up in the Internet wasteland. Bring it to the forefront with branding.

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To learn more about how to help develop your company's brand, call 1-866-211-0743.