5 Steps in the Branding Process

Brands are the most sustainable asset of an organization. Technology changes, products fail, companies get bought and sold, but a brand can serve as the organizing principle for a company’s decision-making. The following are five important steps in the branding process.

• Companies must begin by studying their position in the marketplace and knowing who their clients are. An exhaustive analysis of competitors that includes reviews of their websites, SEO, advertising, and brand identity will help a company differentiate itself and chose a better strategy.
• A brand strategy requires rational thinking and creativity to suit both the workers internally and the customers externally. It should bring clarity in terms of vision, target markets, brand values, brand personality and more. Creating and developing the company name or tagline is a complex job that requires a lot of thought and research. A brand name is an important asset to a business, and a decision to change it, will have a considerable impact on its performance.
• Following this a brand needs to discover its values, mission statement and core philosophies. The brand must look for an original voice, based on gathered intelligence, to make its value proposition to customers. It must also find a unique look and feel to carry in all of their media channels, advertisement, and packaging. This requires a visual vocabulary that includes colors, fonts, a logo and a distinguishable style.
• A touchpoint is a person, thing, or situation that will connect your brand with an ideal customer. A company should scrutinize all of its touchpoints to determine ways to maximize the effectiveness and reach of each one. All of them should produce significant ROI. Use data analysis to take note of your most important touchpoints and to follow the entire process of a sale, from contact to conversion.
• Finally, managing a brand’s identity assets requires ongoing monitoring and feedback. Launching a brand internally first, ensures that all employees are on the same page. Employees need to understand the most important parts of the brand so that they can communicate a consistent message to customers; a set of guidelines will help in this area. The external launch should focus on the customers while reinforcing the brand’s message by using a series of gentle marketing efforts or an event.

If you would like to learn more about this topic please contact us.