Well we’re back after taking a bit of a break for July & August to enjoy the summer. We hope you had a great summer as well…………
One of the questions I seem to get asked a lot is “what are the one or two things that I can do to build a strong brand for my business?” Inevitably I answer that the best thing you can do is be CONSISTENT with the brand strategy. Some of the most enduring brands have been successful because they have maintained a clear focus on the brand identity. Brands like John Deere, Kingsford, The Body Shop, Nike have all established strong brands because they have stayed true to the heritage of the brand over time and have remained relevant. Sure, a brand identity needs to be updated to stay in step with the times but the essence of the brand remains true to its heritage.
Now this is easy to say but difficult to achieve sometimes because of the competitive environment in many industries and the challenges of people moving in and out of marketing roles in a company. However, the best way to counter this is twofold (1) maintain a brand strategy document that can serve as the road map for anyone assuming a role in marketing and (2) ask your employees if they can articulate the brand position or value proposition. Checking with the people that are closest to the brand is a great way to test whether the brand strategy is clear and well understood. If it isn’t then some work needs to be done to course correct.
Great brands aren’t built overnight, it takes time & resources, but the one thing that it should be is CONSISTENT.
