Beware! What Brand Building is Not

This is my second post in the series on The Importance of Brand Development for B2B Companies. In my first post I covered the four tenets of building a strong brand. Today, I aim to clear up misconceptions on brand development by discussing what brand building is NOT.

1. A logo is not your brand. A clever, memorable logo is a great start to developing your brand, but it is by no means the end of your brand development. A brand is built on visual cues but there also needs to be a message that communicates your brand promise. Your brand promise is what your company is going to provide (benefits) and explains how you are able to do it (features) and this message is delivered through words, actions and people.
2. The marketing department isn’t the sole owner of the brand. Marketing alone will not take care of building your brand. A consistent message delivered through all areas within a company is the foundation for a brand identity. You can have savvy advertisements, pristine marketing collateral and a call centre communicating the words you want your customers to hear, but if your delivery isn’t matching up to the promise you are making, you won’t garner the brand image you seek. A consistent message and experience is the only way to develop the brand identity you want.
3. It doesn’t have to be expensive to build a brand. Brand development does not need to be a multi-million dollar affair. In fact, it can be a fairly inexpensive venture especially for those who have a good handle on the trigger points of their audience and what their company is capable of offering. To figure out what your brand needs to convey, examine what your company delivers and what unique characteristics of your company will make your audience take notice. Sometimes the best way to answer these questions is to ask your client base and see it through their eyes.

Next post: How to Build a Persuasive B2B Brand

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