Good brand management follows certain steps
Define
why you're in business.
What does your business do?
How do you do it better than anyone else?
Put into writing the reason that your business exists
and the positive change you aim to achieve.
Consider what you want people to think when they hear
your name.
What do you want current
and prospective employees to think about your business?
What do you want prospects, customers, suppliers,
associates, competitors, and friends to think?
You can't be different things to each of these
different groups and still have a well-managed brand.
The brand image held by each of these groups has to
synch into one identity — one brand — that people will
trust and believe.
Think about the words you want people to use when
defining your business.
Ask your employees,
associates, and customers this question: When people
hear our name, what images do you think come into their
minds?
If everyone is saying the same thing — and if those
words are the words you want associated with your name
— you have a well-managed brand. If gaps occur, you
have your brand-management work cut out for you.
List words that you want people to link to your
business and be certain that you live up to that
desired image. Then lead people to the right
conclusions by presenting those characteristics — that
brand image — consistently and repeatedly in your
marketing communications.
Pinpoint the advantages you want people to associate
with your business.
Figuring out these benefits
helps you land on the advantages you want to
communicate in your marketing communications. It also
leads to your definition of the position you want to
own in the consumer's mind.
Define your brand.
Look at your business
through a customer's or prospect's eyes as you define
your brand. What do people say — and think — about your
business? Why do they choose your business and prefer
to buy from you again and again? How would they define
your brand?
• Boil your findings down to one concept — one brand
definition — that you honestly believe you can own in
the minds of those who deal with your business.
Build your brand through every impression that you
make.
Clarity and consistency are
key to getting it right -- each and every time!
A well-managed brand creates a strong emotional
connection, and a strong emotional connection fosters
loyal customer behavior. Protect and project your brand
through every representation of your business in the
marketplace.
Define why you're in business
Consider what you want people to think when they hear your name
Think about the words you want people to use when defining your business
Pinpoint the advantages you want people to associate with your business
Define your brand
Build your brand through every impression that you make