Does branding apply to you?

I've been at several training sessions in the past year where the issue of branding has arisen. Typically, the trainer, pen poised over the flipchart, will ask the audience to name some brands. The most recent list contained Nike, Asda, Virgin, EasyJet, Amazon.

The trainer then asked small groups to take one of the brands and identify three core values the brand represents. The groups had no difficulty in coming up with answers. Try it yourself.

Most small businesses will believe that branding is just something for large national and international firms such as those listed on the flipchart. Does it apply to a manufacturing company or a small firm offering services in Coventry or Warwickshire?

"A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, which is intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors." (Philip Kotler)

Try the branding exercise on your own firm. Can staff, customers, suppliers agree on what values your name, term, sign, etc. represents? And if you are the owner or managing director of the firm, are those the values you want your brand to represent?

- Mon Aug 19 08:35:34 20020