What is a brand? The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a “name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers.” So why is brand identity development so important? Developing a brand identity for a business or individual has four advantages.

Brand Differentiation

The primary purpose of a brand is to differentiate your business from the competition by explaining the value proposition of your company. For example, what makes an iPhone different from an Android phone? Their main difference is the operating system followed by other sub factors such as the support system offered by each company or the “openness” within each operating system. Some choose the iPhone because it is faster and providse additional support; while others choose the Android because it provides an open source platform where developers are given more freedom and therefore can design some pretty great apps.

Brand Loyalty

Ever wondered why when given a choice, some people continue to buy a certain product? For example, Bonnie, Business Development Manager at Softway Solutions, always buys Mrs. Baird’s bread; while David Solis, Proposal Writer at Softway Solutions, always buys Express shirts and nothing else; and I, myself, always buy Gain detergent with no questions asked.

Society usually builds loyalty to a brand because it  continuously experiences positive encounters with that brand and, as a result, tends to buy that brand’s product every time without thinking twice about the competition.

Brand Recognition

Developing a recognizable brand can either be accomplished through a visualization or auditory strategy. The visualization strategy, where a brand identity is associated with a logo, helps consumers identify who you are without having to see your name. For example, who is the golden arches, the half bitten apple, the swoosh, Col. Sanders, or a yellow happy face? McDonalds, Apple, Nike, KFC, and Walmart.

On the other hand, with an auditory strategy, phrases are developed and words are associated with brands so that their consumers can easily identify the brand with those words and phrases. Here are some examples: “You Are in Good Hands”, “Buta Bum Bum I’m Loving It”, “Dress for Less”, and “Sports and Outdoors – the Right Stuff the Right Price”? Allstate, McDonalds, Ross and Academy.

Brand Value

Did you know that your brand has a value to it? For example, BMW paid £40m only for the Rolls-Royce name and “RR” logo. In 2009, an article in USA Today reported that Coca Cola was worth $68.73 billion. If business is good, then the longer a company has been in business, the more the brand of the company is worth. Think about it: how much is your brand worth?

Developing brands take time, persistence and most definitely differentiation. If you have not developed a brand for your business, contact  a Softway Solution’s brand specialist to create a strategy to  help you take advantage of all the benefits of having a brand.

Many business owners have a misinterpretation of creating a brand. Some business owners think brand development is about creating a logo and that is it. Well, that is WRONG! Developing a brand involves many steps, from preparing to maintaining the brand. In this post, we will review 5 essential steps to develop a valuable brand.

Step 1: Conduct Research

Conducting research involves learning about the company strategies, visions, goals, and mission statement. These will help define the voice or personality of the organization. Researching also involves interviewing key individuals in management to help understand how they operate the business. Once information from the company has been gathered, the next step is to learn about the marketplace, which is comprised of competitors, industry, and customer. Researching the competition involves identifying who the competitors are and how they currently position themselves. Researching the industry means defining the maturity, standards and the legalities of the industry. Finally, researching the customer implies working to understand how current and future customers see your company.

Step 2: Brand Strategy

Brand Strategy is the process of defining what you want to get out of developing the brand. Do you want people to continuously buy your brand? Or do you want people to be aware of your brand? Brand strategy also defines how you want to be positioned and viewed such as innovators, industry leaders, or employee focused, to name a few, by other stakeholders in the market.

Step 3: Design Identity

In this step, designing the identity involves designing the logo for the brand. Designing the logo is not about drawing, rather it includes deciding the color scheme, typography (where necessary), shape, energy and scale of the logo. In this stage, you may also develop a tag line for your business.

Step 4:  Create Touch Points

Creating brand touch points is similar to marketing your brand. Where and how do you plan on sharing your brand? What venues do you plan on utilizing to increase your brand awareness? Will you be utilizing advertising, promotions, public relations or direct marketing strategies?

Step 5: Brand Management

Brand management is a long term commitment to develop a brand. Brand management includes making sure to always convey the same message across different marketing platforms. Brand management also involves monitoring how your brand is being developed, perception by others, who is speaking of your brand, what is being said of the brand, and where your brand is accepted.

Brand development is no easy task and it does not develop quickly. There are many essential steps to be put in place over a long period of time in order to build a successful brand. To get started with developing your brand, contact a Softway Solutions brand specialist to help get you started.