I just read an interesting article by Jane Adamson titled Have the Courage to Create a Brand.  This article reminded me that I have been meaning to write a post about the importance of having a clear, compelling and differentiated brand. So what do I mean by “brand?”  Simply this: Your brand is the place you occupy in a prospect’s or customer’s mind when he or she thinks about you.  Note that I am not referring to how you see yourself, or how you want others to see you, but rather how you are actually perceived. You can argue until you are blue in the face about how you should be seen by the marketplace but the fact is, perception often trumps reality.

You may be a totally blank canvas because the prospect has never heard of your company. This can be a good thing because you now have the opportunity to brand yourself in a fresh way. Perhaps the marketplace has a negative or misinformed image of you, in which case you have some remedial work to do. Alternately, you may occupy the position you want, and your job is to propagate and reinforce your brand. Regardless of the scenario, you should follow these six branding principles:

Branding principle 1:  Your brand must differentiate you. I urge my clients to do whatever it takes to avoid the perception they are a commodity provider. A commodity provider is one where there is no perceived advantage in terms of the product, service, etc., and where the prospect tends to evaluate you primarily on pricing, terms, and so forth.  Unless you have massive economies of scale (e.g. Wal-Mart), this It is almost always a weak position to hold.

Branding principle 2:  Your brand must offer a clear and compelling benefit.  In other words it has to pass the “who cares” test. Your brand must convey a promise to prospects that matches a need or desired benefit that they can readily identify with. Weak benefit statements lead to weak brands.

Branding principle 3:  Your brand should be as specific as possible. There is a tendency to go broad in branding by trying to be all things to all people. This is usually a mistake since you will usually be putting yourself in a tough competitive position.  The trick is to own a space that is narrow enough to eliminate most or all the completion, yet large enough to meet your revenue objectives.  This is not always easy but it is why you must spend adequate time to craft the best possible branding strategy.    

Branding principle 4:  Your brand should be easily understood. It must also be conveyed in as few words as possible without requiring a bunch of backup explanation.  And don’t rely on your internal staff to determine brand clarity. They are usually too close to what you are doing and tend to overestimate the knowledge of the marketplace.   

Branding principle 5:  Your brand must be congruent.  That is to say that what you say you are must match the reality of who you actually are. This may sound simplistic but is a principle that is often violated. For example, how many companies brag about providing the best service while providing mediocre service? You don’t have to be the best at everything, but whatever you say you do better than anyone else, you had best be prepared to prove it. Once you lose your credibility, it is hard to get it back.

Branding principle 6:  Jealously guard your brand.  Challenging the conventional wisdom often works. But never do anything that creates so much controversy that it weakens your brand. And don’t be too clever for your own good by launching a campaign that is great at drawing attention to the creative gimmick, but is contrary to your key positioning message. In other words, all of your outbound communications must reinforce the brand.     

By the way, our brand at Fusion Marketing Partners is “Creating Unstoppable B2B Marketing and Sales Machines.”  This is what we say and this is what we do.

Note: You can read the article mentioned above at www.therevenuegame.com/ceochallenge.