.....YOUR BRAND IS YOU

Branding is one of the most important aspects of any business.

Be it: small, large, a  retail shop, B2B or B2C and the like,

An effective brand strategy gives you a major edge in an increasingly competitive market environment,

But what exactly does "branding" mean, and how does it affect you and your business? Simply put, your brand is your promise to your customer.

It tells them what they can expect from you, your product and services.

Your brand is derived from the following: 

• Who you are,
•  who you want to be and  finally,
• Who people perceive you to be.

The foundation of your brand is,

• Your logo.
• Your website ,
•  Your digital and media presence
• Your networking and process approach
• Your packaging, promotional, and marketing materials
• Does your brand reflects the image of your business.

All of the aforementioned should integrate in your logo, in other to communicate your brand. For instance Sibecks-Actualising progressive business ideas.

Brand Strategy & Equity,

In brand strategy and equity, certain things counts:

• Your brand strategy is to ask yourself, how, what, where, when and to whom you plan to communicate and deliver on your brand messages.
•  Where you want to advertise should be part of your brand strategy.
• Your distribution, and brand communication channels should also be part of your brand strategy
• Your target business audience and market space
•   Finally, what you communicate whether visually or verbally should all be part of your brand strategy.

Consistently, strategic branding leads you to a strong brand equity, which means the added value brought to your company's products or services that allows you to charge more for your brand than what identical, unbranded products command.

The most obvious example of this is SIBECKS consult. Because it has built powerful brand equity, it can charge more for its product and customers will pay that higher price.

The added value is intrinsic to the brand equity which frequently comes in the form of perceived quality of an emotional attachment.

Your brand is like a journey of business self-discovery. It can be difficult, time-consuming and uncomfortable.

It requires, at the very least, that you answer the questions below:

1. What is your company's mission?
2.  What are the benefits and features of your products or services?
3. What do your customers and prospects already think of your company?
4.  What qualities do you want them to associate with your company?

Do your research. Learn the needs, habits and desires of your current and prospective customers. And don't rely on what you think, they think. Know what they think. Thus the first step of the brand journey.

Because defining your brand and developing a brand strategy can be complex, consider leveraging the expertise of SIBECKS consult for small-business advisory services.

Once you've defined your brand, how do you get the word out? Here are a few simple, time-tested tips:

1. Get a great logo. Place it everywhere.
2. Write down your brand message. What are the key messages you want to communicate about your brand? Every employee should be aware of your brand attributes.
3.  Integrate your brand. Branding extends to every aspect of your business, how you answer your phone calls, text messages, as well as what you, and your salespeople wear on sales calls, your e-mail signature, and everything.
4.  Create a "voice" for your company that reflects your brand. This voice should be applied to all written communication and incorporated in the visual imagery of all materials, online and offline. Is your brand friendly? Be conversational. Is it ritzy? Be more formal.
5.  Develop a tagline. Write a memorable, meaningful and concise statement that captures the essence of your brand.
6. Design templates and create brand standards for your marketing materials. Use the same color scheme, logo placement, look and feel throughout. You don't need to be fancy, just consistent.
7. Be true to your brand. Customers won't return to you--or refer you to someone else--if you don't deliver on your brand promise.
8. Be consistent. I placed this point last only because it involves all of the above and is the most important tip I can give you. If you can't do this, your attempts at establishing a brand will fail.

  Contact us for your brand activation