Branding For Dummies. Chiaravalle Bill

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СКАЧАТЬ that are so well-known that they not only become celebrities (think Oprah, Kobe Bryant, Donald Trump, and, like ’em or not, any of the Kardashians) but also create significant value when associated with products or services (for example, think of George Foreman, David Beckham, Beyoncé, LeBron James, and a long list of other celebrities who launch or endorse product brands). But personality brands aren’t exclusively for the uber-famous and ultra-rich. For example, community leaders become local personalities whose endorsements of projects or fundraising campaigns turn otherwise obscure efforts into overnight successes.

      Whether you aspire to be a successful job applicant, a sought-after speaker, or a star in your community or industry, start by building a personal brand. Chapter 4 gets you started. Then look into Susan Chritton’s book Personal Branding For Dummies, 2nd Edition (Wiley) for in-depth guidance.

Branding: A Bird’s-Eye View

      Branding starts before most brand-builders even know it. As soon as people form an opinion about you or your business, product, or service – perhaps based on real-world or online encounters you don’t even realize are happening – they form the basis of your brand image in their minds, which is where brands live. Branding is the process that aligns the opinions people hold about your brand with the image you want them to believe.

       The path from brand essence to esteem

      This section covers major branding steps and where to turn in the upcoming chapters for step-by-step branding advice.

       Step 1: Decide what you’re going to brand

      Are you branding a product, a service, a company, or an individual? If the distinctions are a bit blurry, flip back to the section in this chapter titled, “So, What Do You Want to Brand?”

      As part of your decision about what you’re going to brand you need to decide if the brand you’re developing will be your one-and-only or if it will live alongside or under the umbrella of other brands in your organization. The upcoming section on brand architecture helps you plot, plan, and decide the relationship between your business and your brand or brand.

       Step 2: Do your research

      When you’re clear about what you’re branding, the next step is to analyze your offering and the market in which it will compete. Think of this as your discovery phase, which is comprised of two major steps:

      1. Find out everything there is to know about your market.

      Begin by researching your prospective customers – who they are, where they are, and what motivates their buying decisions. Then analyze your competition to discover what solutions already exist in the marketplace and exactly how the offering you’re branding is different and better.

      2. Find out everything there is to know about your product or service.

      You need to know what makes your offering unique, what attributes make it excel over competing alternatives, and how it solves your customers’ wants or needs.

      Flip to the first pages of Chapter 5 for help with this fact-finding mission.

       Step 3: Position your product or service

      Positioning defines how you’ll differentiate your brand and how you’ll slot it into an available space in the market and in customer minds.

      Determining your brand’s position is an essential early step in the branding process because people will make mind space for your offering only if you can convince them, in a split second, that you provide unique solutions to problems or needs that aren’t already being addressed by competing solutions.

      To determine your market position, follow these four steps:

      1. Determine which distinct and meaningful consumer needs or desires only your product or service addresses in the marketplace. Don’t try to take an already established position away from a competitor unless you have the budget, expertise, and time to do so.

      2. Communicate your point of difference.

      3. Win a unique position for your offering in the market and in the consumer’s mind.

      4. Perform so well that no competitor can compete against or unseat your position.

      Chapter 5 takes you on a step-by-step walk through the positioning process, including how to locate your market position, how to communicate your position, how to win your position in your consumers’ minds, and how to protect your position so that your brand can claim and own the defined niche in which it will live and grow.

       Step 4: Write your brand definition

      Your brand definition is a true statement about what your brand stands for. It describes what you offer, why you offer it, how your offering is meaningfully different and better, the unique benefits your customers can count on, and the promise or set of promises you make to all who work with and buy from your business.

      You have to know your brand definition before you begin to develop and project the public presentation of your brand. Otherwise the external face of your brand – everything you present through marketing efforts – won’t match up with the internal base of your brand, and your brand will lack credibility.

      Figure 2-1 uses an iceberg to represent the relationship between the base and face of your brand:

      ✔ The external face of your brand rises into public view in the form of your name, logo, website, ads, packaging, promotions, and marketing messages that everyone from employees to consumers, suppliers, friends, and colleagues can quickly and easily see, understand, and believe. Like the tip of the iceberg, the face of your brand is only a representation of the larger brand base that lies out of consumer view.

      ✔ The internal base of your brand is the substance of what your brand is and stands for. It includes your services, products, culture, mission, vision, and values, as well as the leadership, management, and organization that together create the strong basis for your brand.

      As you define your brand, turn to Chapter 6 for help with every step involved.

      Illustration courtesy of Bill Chiaravalle, Brand Navigation

      Figure 2-1: A strong brand definition reflects both the face and base of your brand.

       Step 5: Develop your name, logo, and tagline

      This is the point where branding gets exciting. The minute you give your brand a name and face – or logo – you can watch managers, employees, and others inside the company start to buy into the branding process. Here’s a brief introduction to these important brand elements:

      ✔ Name: Your name is the key that unlocks your brand image in your consumer’s mind. Turn to Chapter 7 for help creating or revising your brand name, including advice for how to recognize qualities of a great name, pick or create the name, test the appropriateness and availability of the name you СКАЧАТЬ