What is a Brand?

A lot of people are talking about it. But very few understand it.

The brand is the most powerful business tool you have.

Everyone seems to want it, but not very many know how to get it.

First, lets start with what a brand is not.

A brand is not a logo. It's a symbol for the brand, but it's not the brand itself.

Corporate colors, fonts, your website, and brochures are not a brand either.
They are the visual identity that communicates the brand.
So then, what is a brand?

A brand is the thoughts, feelings, words, or emotions you have when you hear a name.

It's all about how they make you feel.

Let me show you what I mean.

Think about these 3 strong brands:

Apple, TATA and Asian Paints

We all think the same thing, and we all use the same words to describe each of those strong brands when we hear their names.
Right?

Apple: innovation, creativity

TATA: integrity, passion

Asian Paints: colourful, friendly

Simply put, branding is recognition. Or perception.

It's not defined by what the companies think, but by what individuals, like you and I, think.

The brand is held in the hearts and minds of people.

So your brand isn't what you think it is.

It's what they think it is.

The Omnipotent Brand

A typical response I get even from some veteran entrepreneurs is that small businesses, with not enough money to spend, should concentrate on 'more important' aspects of the business than on branding; or even better - they think they have no need for Branding ! Branding for many small (even bigger) enterprises never go beyond creating a logo and a "tag-line" (whatever that means!).

However, what most organizations don't understand is that every business creates an impression knowingly or unknowingly, positive or negative - that creates a certain perception about them in their customers' mind. The name, logo, ads, service quality, employees' behavior and attitude - everything contribute to this perception.

So, like it or not you do have a brand; what you do with it is, of course, entirely up to you.

The best thing, however, would be to take control of it to your advantage instead of just letting impression happen haphazardly which might result in a negative perception.

Haphazard branding efforts doesn't help your customers associate themselves with your business - they might get confused, you would not have top of mind recall, or they would have no clear idea on what you can do for them.

Branding helps in removing these clutter. In addition, a clear and consistent message sets you apart from your competition and communicates exactly what you are offering. But avoid using repetitive and qualitative standard phrases like best of class", "award-winning", etc. And most importantly, walk the talk so it shows you value your commitment.

The Brand Relationship ...

“In pre-internet days, the buyer’s process was fairly straightforward: stimulus, shelf, experience. A stimulus sparked a buyer’s interest in a product, they went to the store or called a salesperson to buy it, and then they experienced the product. There were very few places where a brand could intersect with the buyer: an advertisement, which may have been the stimulus; the packaging and display, which spurred the purchase; and, possibly, after the sale in customer service – though if it came to that, it was inevitably because something had gone wrong.

Today’s purchasing journey, whether for a consumer product or complex business purchase, has infinitely more touch-points where a brand and buyer might intersect.”

The more interesting thing here is that – while brands used to be the “property” of the brand owner (product / service) since the beginning of the concept of brand, it is no longer so. Now the brand belongs to the person who uses it, recommends it, advocates for it or slams it openly. Therefore, while the brand custodian has changed in the post internet period, the brand association has certainly increased, with those who use or refuse them.

When a customer talks passionately about a brand whether loving or thrashing it – there is a sense of ownership involved. And that ownership is something which the brand should leverage on. And perhaps, that is what brand friendship is all about.

Ultimately, if the brand and me are not friends, how do I care what happens to it?

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