The elephant in almost every board room I enter is the issue of my client’s brand. It triggers an enormous range of emotions, from frustration, to boredom, to annoyance and, yes, even anger. Like marketing in general, branding seems to be one of those things that many business people just don’t “get.” Or want to.

Many business people think branding is a code word for their logo.

Well, yes, and it’s so much more than that. It’s about what that logo represents.

Let’s take a deeper look.

Content marketing, being a type of marketing, strays into the topic of branding and if you are one of those people who would rather watch paint dry than talk about branding, please bear with me. This will help you generate more revenue. And it is so much more efficient than ignoring your brand and hoping for the best.

When it’s done properly, a branding research project is conducted over a number of months and results in a massive document that is full of key information about your company, your ideal customers, your competitors and your opportunities. It can cost many thousands of dollars. And it will create suggestions for getting the most out of your marketing communication dollars (the ones you haven’t spent yet).

One of the reasons that I’m looking for a web designer with a strong capability in graphic design is that the visuals of my website are a key component in expressing what it’s like to work with Crossman Communications. The visual impact of our website helps tell the story of who we are. Part of what I want to do with this project is to take another look at our logo.

A branding exercise will stray into the ever-important area of your logo, as well as the key true messages your ideal customers need to hear about you in order to know that you are the ideal supplier for them. Your branding has an awful lot to do with your ideal customer. And, in an ideal world, your content follows your branding.

A lot of branding experts will tell you that your brand represents the promise you make to your customer about what they can expect from your products and services. It differentiates your business from those of your competitors, and it expresses who you are, who you want to be and who people perceive you to be.

Are you the innovator in your industry? The creative problem-solver? The high-cost, high-quality option or the low-cost, get-the-job-done alternative? You can’t be all things to all people and who your brand paints you to be should be founded upon who you really are and who your target customers want and need you to be. Ideally, these match perfectly.

The foundation of your brand is your logo. Your website, packaging and promotional materials – all of which should integrate your logo – communicate your brand.

More about all that in our next blog!

In the meantime, if you would like to connect with me to find out more about how Crossman Communications can help you tell your business story through your online content, please contact me directly at susan@crossmancommunications.com. If you’re in a hurry, book yourself in right away for a free consultation at www.meetme.so/susancrossman.