
5 minute read
How effective is your brand?
By Greg Stine President Polaris, Inc. www.polaris-inc.com
f IKE it or not. you have a brand. I-tWhether your company has a sophisticated branding program, or you practice hit-and-miss marketing, you are communicating something (a brand) to your marketplace.
Part of the process of growing your business in volume and profitability is to better understand qualities that make you special and communicate them effectively and consistently.
Even the smallest company, if it is to survive for the long haul, must create a brand that stands on its own. The brand, after all, is what holds and communicates much of the value and power of a successful company.
Even the smallest company, if it is to survive for the long haul, must create a brand that stands on its own.
place-its strength, its integrity, and its reputation (good or bad).
It is not simply how the company logo is displayed, but is the emotional bridge between your company and your customers.
It is the sum total of all the factors that work together to create an emotional response in your customers and prospects-office decor, employee dress, employee attitudes, the condition of company vehicles and facilities, the look of company literature, product quality, pricing policies, etc.
It is all those things your clients touch, see, or hear and IMMEDIATELY differentiates your company from its competition.
Focused brands are more powerful than diffused brands.
. The first brand in a category has a huge advantage.
One big idea is best-keeP it simple.
. Don't neglect PR-it's a great way to build a brand.
Be consistent and patient-building a strong brand takes time.
So what is a brand?
From a business point of view, branding in the marketplace is very similar to branding on the ranch. A branding program should be designed to differentiate your cow from all the other cattle on the range, even if all the cattle on the range look pretty much alike.
In other words, your brand is your company's image in the market-
For example, what do you think of when you read the word Kodak? Film, or pictures, right? Maybe the gold color of their packaging? I'll bet you didn't think of instant pictures (maybe you would have if instead I had named Polaroid). The people that built the Kodak brand created an image that controls what you (and the rest of us) think of them. Talk about power.
Sadly, most companies know little about branding principles and/or how to implement them. Therefore, when you know who you are as a company-and everyone in your organization is able to articulate it clearlythen you have a leg up on the competition. That's the power of branding.
I have identified nine fundamental qualities of a good branding program.
. Avoid sub-brands at all costshort-term success doesn't offset weakening strength in the long-term. . quality is important, but not as important as the perception of quality. Somehow, some way, you have to be different.
. Put your brand definition in writing, otherwise you'll get offcourse.
Where to begin?
Decide what it is about your company that makes you different or special, and then make sure that everything you do communicates these qualities, with consistency and clarity.
- Mr. Stine is founder, president and director of sales for marketing specialist Polaris Inc. (www.polaris-inc.com), Oakridge, Eugene and Portland, Or.

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