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Brand Building is a Journey
Brand Building is a Journey
By Sharon Housley
Brand building is indeed a journey. Branding
is all about how your product or service is perceived
by customers and potential customers. A brand marketer
attempts to manipulate brand awareness by associating
traits they would like consumers to associate with the
brand.
Building a brand has everything to do
with capturing the hearts and minds of consumers. Building
a brand is much more than just promoting an image. A
brand incorporates and conveys the values and traits
that a company wants associated with their product or
service. It sounds like building a brand is a simple
task, but the marketers must do more than just create
a brand image. The magnitude of branding encompasses
all aspects of a product. With this in mind, we've put
together a guide for marketers on the journey of brand
building...
Protect Your Brand
Regardless of whether there are current
brand expansion plans or not, it is a good idea to register
the brand domain in other countries (like .eu). Registering
the brand in foreign markets, even if you don't use
them, will help protect the brand. Additionally, be
sure to register the brand as account names on the various
social networking sites, if for no other reason that
to prevent someone else from doing so and taking advantage
of (or misrepresenting) your brand.
Defend The Brand
Monitor popular blogs, news feeds, and
other online resources for any mentions of your brand.
If there is a mention, such monitoring will allow you
to react quickly if the need arises. Use ego feeds and
Google alerts to receive instant notifications when
the brand is mentioned in the social media.
Develop A Brand Image
Develop an image that can be associated
with your brand. Brands tend to be iconic, and consumers
will often associate an image with a brand. Providing
that image will assist consumers with brand recognition.
Small business owners often wear multiple hats, but
graphic design is not for amateurs, so this is an area
that is often worth spending money on. The graphic image
associated with your brand should be professional and
visually appealing.
Brand Consistency
Every contact that you have with a customer
or potential customer should reinforce your brand. Branding
should be consistent in all aspects of your business
and promotion. Present the same image and colors in
all aspects of a consumer experience, from business
cards to invoices to web design and so on, so that they
all remain consistent.
Global Brand Concerns
The world is much smaller than it use
to be, and this offers businesses an opportunity to
breach new markets. But it also poses a challenge to
small businesses who are unaware of how their product,
logo, slogan, or brand will translate or be perceived
in foreign markets. Be sure to consider and investigate
the global implications of any text, slogans, or images
that you associate with your product or service, and
be aware of how it might impact your brand in the global
market.
Establishing a strong brand can have significant
value, and truly is a journey that companies should
embark upon in their quest to be successful.
About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com
software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds
and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for
RecordForAll http://www.recordforall.com
audio recording and editing software.
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copy of the issue or a link to any online posting would
be greatly appreciated send an email to sharon@notepage.net
.
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