What makes a brand memorable? Some brands are engaging, some you are able to connect with instantly, some state obviously what they offer, some may not. Some brands are just downright fun, maybe outrageous or stuffy. You will know immediately if the brand appeals to you.

So what is it that makes a brand successful and enables it to connect with the right audience?

Branding is an integral part of your business and is made up of many elements. Your brand is everything that is connected to your business. It’s not just the logo (the visual representation), it’s the whole experience for customers connecting with your business. It also incorporates the perception people have of your business, your products and services, how these are delivered, how you interact, speak and look.

The three key principles of a brand include:

• Your Logo: the visual appearance
• Your Why: the emotional connection
• Your Brand Promise: the practical element

Let’s take a look a closer look at the whole brand experience and how you can create an authentic brand to connect with your audience.

Your Logo

Many people confuse brand and logo. Essentially your logo is the most prominent visual representation of your brand and how you visually connect with people.

No matter how big or small your business and whether your business is consumer focussed or a business to business (B2B) service provider, you will benefit from developing and maintaining a recognisable and consistent logo.

Your logo is the foundation of your brand and should be integrated in all that you do. It should appear in all your marketing, your website, social media accounts, internal and external communications from email signature to letters and proposals.

The rule here is use it consistently – the logo, the fonts, the colours – each and every time. This helps to create a reliable experience when a customer interacts with your business.

Your Why

As humans we crave and love human connection. Part of creating an authentic brand is developing your “why”.

Why do you do what you do?

Your “why” supersedes what you do and how you do it. Essentially people will connect with the human side of your brand and want to know the story behind your band – your why.

Some of the key questions to ask yourself when developing your why are:

• What do you believe in?
  Your customers will have the same beliefs and values. If these are aligned, they will instantly connect with your brand.
• Why do you do what you do? Why do you love it?
  Tell your story. No matter what you sell or what service you provide, people are curious creatures and want to know. Tell it authentically, be raw, be honest and even a little vulnerable.

Once you’ve created your “why” you can weave it into your marketing – share it on your website, your social media, your marketing collateral, blogs, emails and your business pitch.

Your Brand Promise

Defining your brand promise to your customer will help them connect all the dots. It’s what helps motivates them to engage with your business. With your customer in mind, here are some key questions that will help you craft your brand promise:

• What do you promise to deliver, consistently?
• How is it delivered?
• What attributes can your customers count on?
• What are the benefits of working with your business?

Your brand promise should be succinct and provide customers with a clear understanding of what your business will consistently deliver. It is an expectation that your brand will live up to every time people interact with your brand. This applies to online or face to face interactions, in your marketing, promotions, experiences, basically any contact with your brand.

Create a one page Brand Guide to keep you focused on the 3 key principles of your brand.

Once you have established the 3 key principles of your brand you can move forward to create key messages that incorporate these elements into your marketing. These elements will help your customers remember your brand, connect with your brand and feel comfortable knowing you will deliver what you promise.

Create a one page Brand Guide and place it in a prominent position near your workspace so that you can be easily referred to. This will keep you focused on the 3 principles each time you are marketing your business, updating your website, speaking to a new customer or creating social media content. In the Brand Guide include the 3 key principles – your logo (include colours, fonts, design), your why and your brand promise.

This is also a great activity for established brands and businesses to undertake.

How long has it been since the brand was revisited? Is it out-dated? Is it still connecting to the right audience or is it time to revitalise it? Have your products and services changed over time? Have the demographics of your customers changed over time? Has your brand promise changed?

Injecting some freshness and innovation into your brand and communications will assist you to reconnect with your audience and perhaps enable you to also connect with and appeal to a new generation of customers.

We hope this helps get you started on developing your successful brand or revisiting your existing brand.

If you’re feeling a little stuck or unsure where to begin contact us to schedule a 30 minute branding power session with Intrinsic Marketing.