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From Bland To Brand - Part I

How are you going to take your business forward over the next 12 months? Yes, many people look at turning to the Internet with a website or updating their existing one, and this can be the ideal time to take a wider look at your business and branding. I thought, then, that this month I'd start a short series sharing with you some of my top tips for building a successful brand.

Branding is about promoting your strengths. What are you good at? What do you believe in as a business? Is it excellent customer service, the best value for money in the area, or something else? Once you've decided on these "brand values", you'll need to be able to consistently deliver them to your customers. What makes your existing customers buy from you in the first place? Ask potential customers what they look for when deciding from whom to buy. Both results will help give you a clearer picture of how your business is perceived, how to develop it and your brand.

Only once you're confident that you've nailed your brand values and what your customers need should you start to build your brand. How do you do that? By consistently getting these brand values out there. You'd be surprised how many people in business don't realise that every time you or business has contact with a customer, these values need to get across. Just a few of the things to consider are your business name, what you call your products or services, your logo, any slogans you use, where and how you advertise, your website, how your staff dress.I could go on.

Take a look at each area and ask yourself, "Does this truly reflect my brand values?" Yes? Excellent, your brand will only be strengthened. No? Hmm, your brand, and with it your business, could be badly damaged. Here's a true example - a few months ago I phoned a company who advertised that they uplifted a certain piece of machinery for servicing from your home. Would they collect and service mine? Sure, no problem.and I haven't heard from them since. Their follow-up does not back up the values they portray in their advertising, so I'm unlikely to get back them, or recommend them to anyone else.

Next time, we'll take a look at managing your brand, how to review your brand to ensure it stays successful. Before I go though, three top branding tips:

• Concentrate on what your business accomplishes for customers. If it's not delivering what they want, you need to rethink things
• Keep it simple by focussing on just a few key brand values
• Be consistent - each area of your business should make customers feel the same way about you

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