What is a “brand”?
Let’s start by indicating what a brand is not. “A brand is not a logo, an identity system, a website, or a product.” It is not even all of these things put together.
A brand is the gut feeling of an individual [person] about a product, service, or organization.
Your company brand is not what you say it is, it is how every individual that comes into contact with it says it is. So, why even have brand guidelines? It isn’t like you can control or predict how every person in the world will “feel” about every aspect of your company. Or, can you? (Yes, we can.)
The main purpose of branding is to get more people to buy more stuff for more years at a higher price.
If your main business goal for next year is to get more customers and you are a little lost on how to exactly go about doing that, take a step back and ask yourself: how do my customers perceive my company? If you haven’t been following guidelines for how you present your company, chances are you aren’t being perceived in the way that you want to be. Or, you might be completely oblivious as to how your customers feel.
Quotes for Conclusion
“The more distributed a brand becomes, the stronger its management needs to be.”
“By mastering these principles, you build a sustainable competitive advantage.”