How a Brand Defines Your Business

A brand can take as long as several years to build but can be damaged, and even destroyed, by something as small as a tweet. That’s scary, huh? It is also why branding is such a challenging task.

"Simply put, the largest and most important aspect of your brand is your reputation," said influential blogger Chris Garrett.

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If this is true, how’s your business’s reputation? Or, like Garrett puts it, what are people saying about your business when no one is around to defend it? As pointed out in the above video, the answers to these questions will help you understand what your brand is.

If you don’t like what you hear, then now is the time to make some changes. Some businesses get discouraged and don’t even know where to start because their ideal brand is nowhere close to what their actual brand is. In this case, Garrett recommends starting with the positive points about your current brand and building on them.

On the other hand, if a business waits to get funding for marketing and promotional campaigns that would help them reach their perfect brand, it would likely be waiting for a long time or never receive the funding. In addition, the brand could be much worse and even further from where the business wants it to be.

Another tip that Garrett offers in regards to branding involves a business’s associations. Who would you like to be associated with? Who are you associated with? Businesses need to consider these questions as they develop partnerships, since these affiliates could cause more harm than good. A business should also make sure that it isn’t a business that other brands wouldn’t want to be related to.

Thirdly, Garrett points out that businesses need to be honest in their branding. If you make false or exaggerated promises to consumers, it is just a matter of time before it will be reflected in your brand.

"Most people who do not get a grip on this have mixed messages and incongruent behaviour," said Garrett.

To keep this from happening to your business, be sure to be clear and genuine in all communication and messaging with consumers.

So, as you can see, a brand is so much more than a logo or a tagline. It is, instead, about reputation, associations, and honesty. If your business puts these 3 elements into practice, it is on its way to establishing a strong brand. After that, the logo and tagline just serve as icing on the cake.