Reinvolve Blog The Importance of Establishing a Brand

There's a big difference between having a client base and being a brand. In the former situation, you have the money coming in, but you have no real stability. A brand is the opposite - you get both the customers and the stability of being known.When people know you, you become the source of happiness. Let's say you own a pest control company. If you do a good job and solve her problem, the customer will be ecstatic not only about getting rid of her cockroaches, but also about you, the company who helped her. This even translates to something like a funny picture site that lives online, because people will now say that they're spending time on your site instead of just "looking at random pictures on this website". (Sort of like how people say they're "Redditing" when they're actually just looking at memes.)How to become a brandMaking the leap from "provider" to "brand" isn't terribly difficult, but you do have to be consistent. You need to create elements behind yourself that people associate with your brand. You create this brand persona, and as long as people like the persona and you abide by it, you'll get their loyalty.Name and logoThis is the most obvious aspect. Your customers and potential customer will be judging you immediately on your name and your logo. Neither has to be fancy, but they both have to be memorable in a good way. No one wants to be associated with a low-quality website.Your name shouldn't be the very first thing you think of; it should be something that you're in love with. You're going to have to stand behind this name every day. Once you get one that you love, ask some people in your target market what they think of it - if you're selling to knitters but your hobbies are hockey and micro-brewing, what you come up with might not sit well with your target. And they're the only people you need to please.MissionEvery brand needs something that it aims to do. Some aim to provide the best experience possible. Some aim to provide a "pretty good" experience at half of the price as those aiming for the sky.Let's take JetBlue and Spirit Airlines as an example. I think we're all familiar with JetBlue - they sell themselves on their features that other airlines simple do not. More channels, more legroom, etc. This mission is working for them - their stock has almost doubled from June of last year.But Spirit Airlines goes a different route - they're (by far) the most complained about airline in the world, and yet their stock has also doubled since June of last year. Over five years, it's been growing much faster than JetBlue has. They go against the current and offer mediocre service at extremely low prices compared to the other guys. Both of these missions are working because they're both up front about what they aim to do, and they stick to that mission.Voice and employee standardsOnce you have your creative and mission all in synch, you need to maintain them whenever you have an interaction with a customer. Every employee needs to project that mission. Every product you sell needs to uphold that mission.ce.This is why so many companies have lengthy employee training and product inspection periods. To a standard employee at a clothing store, forgetting to wear khakis (and wearing jeans instead) might not seem like a big deal. But that small mistake will have a large impact on the brand to everyone who sees him on that day. Everything needs to align perfectly for a brand to be successful and loved.It all starts with an idea, and then it's up to you to make your company match that idea every time you interact with the public in any way. This controlled interaction will lead to a plethora of upsides for you including increased customer trust and more word-of-mouth business.But if you don't become a brand, you're just another dreaded "company".Read More