The idea of branding is many times misunderstood, even by many who call themselves branding experts.  There are so many misconceptions out there that I was leery to include it in the title of my blog:  What Big Brands Know.  Why?  Because a true brand strategy encompasses every part of your business.  It’ not just a logo.

So what is it?

In the simplest terms your brand is:

The culmination of all the experiences an individual has with your business.

                        Your brand resides in the mind of an individual.  What they think is part rational and part emotional.  It could be made up of dozens of experiences, or just a few.  Their opinion is solidified, adjusted, or changed based on their ongoing experiences.  Depending on your business, they may have many touch points with your business.  For example, they may see your advertising, your website, your store, your waitstaff, your coupon, your competitor who talks about you, one of your customers, one of your suppliers, your packaging, an online rating of your business, your receptionist, or many other touch points.

Each and every one of these leaves some sort of impression, developing an individual’s opinion of your brand in their mind.  Each is an opportunity for you to improve or deteriorate your brand perception.

What is it not?

There are many things that make up the brand of a business, and sometimes people confuse these with the true meaning of brand.

It’s not just the logo

It’s common for businesses to talk about their logo as their brand.  The fancy term for this is actually “brandmark.”  Your brandmark or logo is important, and it can sometimes help clarify what your company stands for to a customer.  This could enhance a customer’s perception of your company, but it is not your brand.

It’s not just the product or packaging

Sometimes people think of the actual product and packaging as the brand. It is true that the packaging is a component that helps form a customer’s opinion about a brand.  Does the packaging have a distinctive shape?  Does it make the product function better?  Does the color make it easy to remember?  All of these things can help mold a customer’s perception, but it is not your brand.

It’s not just the space

For retail businesses, the space can make a big impact on the brand of the business.  How is it laid out?  How is it lit?  What colors are used?  What is my experience when I enter the space?  The retail experience is a big part of the brand, but it is not your brand.

It’s not just the personality

Products and businesses have personalities.  Some are masculine, some are funny, some are ritzy and some are delicate.  Companies spend millions to communicate the personality of their brands.  Think of the personality of brands like Marlboro, the Volkswagen Beetle, and Rolex.  They are all very different, and very specific.  Alas, the personality is not the brand, just one component that a consumer uses to formulate the brand that resides in their mind.

It’s not just the expectations

Some companies believe that the brand is the set of customer expectations that has been built over time.  As Ray Croc was building McDonalds, he constantly focused on consistency.  Customers come back to brands over and over because they know what they’re going to get.  It makes choosing easy.  While consistency and expectations are a big deal in formulating your brand in a customer’s mind, they are not your brand.

Your business has a brand

You can see that there are lots of factors that make up a brand.  It’s important to know that your business has a brand whether you’ve planned for it or not.  The minute customers start forming opinions about your business, your brand has been launched.  And when they start telling others what they think, it has started to spread.  Think about all the points where your business connects with customers or potential customers.  Are you being purposeful about building a positive impression and enhancing your brand at each one of them?  Do all of your employees understand the brand you’re developing and how they can do their part?

Your brand isn’t what you think it is, it’s what your customers think it is.  But it’s your job to influence what they think at every point along the way.

Business isn’t as complex as we often make it.  Big companies pay millions to external consultants, MBA students spend two years studying every part of business, big companies generate hundred page annual plans, and countless books are written each year on what you actually need to do to make more money in business.

Well, I earned my MBA, I’ve written an annual plan for a billion dollar brand, and I’ve been a consultant.   During my career in big business, what I’ve really learned is that much of business can be simplified into one short statement:

Be different from competition in a way customers value.

This applies to any business that exists to make money.  Whether you’re a huge brand, an early-stage start-up, a product maker, or a service provider this applies to you.  With all the work it takes to run a business, it’s easy to forget that this is the simple foundation of why your business exists.  This is how successful businesses get big and stay big.  They continually refine their understanding of what their customers value, and deliver it in a way that stands out from competition.

Simple, right?

Positioning your business distinctly from your competitors may seem obvious, but it’s amazing how many companies, even large ones, fail to do it.

It’s useful to think about it this way:  Customers today don’t buy products, they choose between options.  Our lives are packed with options for spending money, and many products seem the same.  It’s more important than ever to create a unique space in the mind of a customer.  If you try to take a space that’s already filled by another company, it’s very hard to get attention; but if you create a new space that makes the customer’s life better, you’re in.

In 1959 Volkswagen launched an ad called “Think Small.”  This is a great example of doing it right.  At a time when Americans were obsessed with big muscle cars, the ad showed that the Beetle was different, and how that was valuable to customers.  The ad pointed out that the car uses five pints of oil instead of five quarts, it can drive 40,000 miles on a set of tires, it doesn’t need antifreeze, that your insurance will cost less, and that you can actually fit into a parking space.  While the ad hit on rational reasons that were valuable to customers, the shape of the car and the personality of the ads hit hard on the emotional reasons why a customer would want the car.  It was a powerful one-two punch.

Once is not enough.

Small companies get big, and big companies stay afloat by continually adjusting how they provide value to customers.  Not changing with the changing needs of customers can bankrupt large companies just as well as small ones.

For decades, Kodak stood for “Film I trust.”  They built a strong brand around ideas like quality, family, and memories.  However, they were slow to innovate as digital cameras were introduced.  What customers value changed quickly, and competition leapfrogged Kodak by providing a product that met customer’s new needs.  Between 2000 and 2010 Kodak’s stock dropped by over 90%.

You can do it for free.

Not only is being different in a way customers value the foundation of any business, you can create the foundation for free.  This is thinking part of being in business.  There is a lot to do in any business, but the time you spend thinking and understanding is what sets you up for long-term success.  Survey the landscape of your business.  Who are your competitors?  What do customers think about them?  What do they think about you?  Whose offering makes the customer’s life better?  How you’re different in a way that customers value makes all the difference.

Now you’re ready for marketing.

Once you’ve figured out how you’re providing value different from competition, you’re ready to do marketing.  What you say in your marketing messages will be simple if you’ve done the work to position yourself upfront.  Spending marketing dollars is like cutting a board.  You should measure twice, and cut once.  Once you cut, its cut, and once you spend your dollars, they’re gone.  Best to be sure your message matters before spending the money.