Branded For Success

I ran across this at a corporate branding site. What a great way to breakdown how branding is used within a company. This is not for the beginner or the branding-faint-of-heart. For the small business and entrepreneur, who are my target market, you may not implement every branding element this illustration shows. At the same time, though, it can help you discover parts of your brand that you may be missing and help you set goals as you develop your brand. Check it out by clicking the image below.

Built by Kolbrener, a branding company

Whenever I ask someone what they consider to be great customer service, I usually hear similar responses. Most will respond with either doing whatever is necessary to make the experience better for the customer or doing whatever it takes to make the customer happy.

Thanks to all of the posters we have hanging on the walls and the lessons that we have been taught about customer service, most people have been trained to believe the standard clichés like “the customer is always right,” “the customer is the boss” or “a happy customer means a healthy business.”

Are there times where concerns for the customer’s happiness could be detrimental to the success of your business?

Let me tell you what happened to me this week, and then you can decide. I was out this weekend looking for a new car. My son is graduating this year so what a perfect time to give him my 2001 Nissan Altima so that I can get a car that better fits my needs, like the brand new 2007 Saturn Sky. Yeah, I know that my needs may look like my wants, but right now, I need my wants. (more…)

It is a sign of healthy brand implementation when a company actually lives out their brand. What use is a brand if you don’t maintain it through your company actions or if you don’t publicly implement it in your community? When you have a brand set, implementing it in how your company operates, how you engage clients, and how you gain exposure in the community will determine its effectiveness.

I pass a State Farm Insurance agent’s office every day as I take my kids to school. State Farm’s tag line is, “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.” What caught my attention about this particular agent was her roadside marquee. For the nine months that I drove by her office last year, I can only remember once when her message was about her actual product and a special she was offering. Every other time, she has used her marquee to show her involvement as a citizen of her community.

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Branding is one of the most important aspects of a successful business. Major corporations spend billions of dollars every year in the U.S. alone to build and establish their brands. Why are these companies so adamant about branding?

There are a number of reasons as to why branding is such a significant tool for successful businesses.

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