Branding (it’s about trust)

Branding is everything to do with your organisation – how it’s perceived in the marketplace by your audience, both internal and external, your suppliers, essentially all stakeholders. It’s how you answer the phone, what you wear, your marketing strategy your invoice – everything is branding. The problem is that many businesses rarely see themselves as a brand and confuse this with their logo or single elements such as their printing. A brand is the perception formed by the audience about a company, person or idea. Only the audience can “make” a brand. However a company should create strategies to influence the perception of their audience.

The significance of a solid branding strategy cannot be underestimated. It’s imperative to the positive perception of your business. Because Brand Action understands business, branding and identities as a whole, we can rationally and confidently explain why a brand or identity is struggling or growing. As part of an audience, we make a perception about our client’s brand. This then begins the journey of refining that brand.

Let’s looks as some names and see how you react. McDonald’s®, banks, Michael Jackson, Disneyland®, George Bush, Elvis, Bunnings®, Sydney, petrol companies, Greenpeace® . All these, and many millions more, are a brand and what makes up that brand are the many elements. Let’s take McDonald’s® as it’s a universally recognised brand. How is their food? Are their premises clean? What’s their service like? Does it meet your expectations? What colour is their logo? Do you want fries with that? Every element in the McDonald’s® branding is covered and that’s the strategy and system they follow. It is systemised to such a degree that they deliver on your perceptions time and time again.

Irrespective of the quality or price of the product, it is consistency which counts and that builds trust. When Brand Action enter the premises of a client or review an idea, we take the brand and identity into consideration to formulate the best possible solution. How we see your business is how all your potential clients see you as well. You may have a “good” reputation in your industry but your brand doesn’t reflect it. Do you have a consistent brand? Brands can be fragile. If the perception of the audience changes rather negatively towards a brand then it takes significant time for a company or person to win back the trust and faith in that audience.

So, if you want to create a positive experience with your audience, focus on every aspect of your business and build the kind of brand you want to be perceived as, professional, clean, efficient, organised or messy, sloppy, dissatisfying, unprofessional – it’s your business choice. Brand Action can assist in brand management because we’re in the business.