The Core Principles Of Branding

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Most business professionals know what branding is instinctively, but if you asked them to write it down, they’d struggle. That’s where this post can help. In it, we take a look at some of the top branding principles that need to govern all your decisions for how you represent your company. 

Principle #1: Open A Dialogue

Entrepreneurs can sometimes falsely believe that their job is to tell customers what their brand is all about. In other words, they see their role as merely insisting on how they want to be perceived. 

But, of course, that’s not how the real world works. Sure, companies can influence the direction things go, but Walmart is never going to be Louis Vuitton. 

The trick here is to open a dialogue. Interact with consumers and get them to tell you how they perceive you. Then leverage this to reflect back at them the image of your brand that they want to see. 

Principle #2: Get Your Workforce Onboard

You might have some great branding ideas rumbling around in your head. But if your team doesn’t share them with you, it’ll have a knock-on effect on how your customers perceive you.

Ideally, you want to put forward a comprehensive front. You want every person in your company to embody your brand ideals. People need to eat, drink and sleep your company’s marketing. 

Principle #3: Sway Online Opinion

Jess Bezos famously said that your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room. In a sense, he was right. However, what they say about you when you’re not in the room is still under your control. 

As sites like tonimarino.co.uk point out, one of the best strategies is to simply sway the online conversation. You can do this via social media, press releases, content creation and even video productions. The more you can influence how people perceive you, the more attracted to your brand they will feel – something that should hopefully show up in your bottom line. 

Principle #4: Keep Your Promises

Some brands like to promise big things. And that’s fine. However, you must be prepared to deliver on them, according to smallbusiness.chron.com. If you shoot for the stars but only offer your customers mediocre services, then it is actually worse than promising them trash and giving it to them.

Principle #5: Find A Universal Truth

Branding should also endeavour to communicate some sort of universal truth. You want to say something to your audience that is going to stand the test of time and that, hopefully, will be just as compelling in a century’s time as it is today. 

Of course, finding a universal truth isn’t always an easy task. And, unfortunately, because it is so industry-specific, nobody can give it to you on a plate. However, once you stumble across it, you know you have it.  

Principle #6: Stand Out

Lastly, you want your brand to stand out. Distinctive brands tend to be more successful than those that hide in the shadows. It’s the difference between Red Bull and PwC.

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