Often, my office phone rings and on the other end of the line is a person who tells me they need branding for their company or their product. Unfortunately, most people think of branding only as a logo and a tagline. Your brand is a lot more than that, and it is a work in progress — forever.
How the public sees you
Your brand is the external perceptions by the public of your company and product. And there are many touch points that impact your brand, some of which you can control, and some of which you cannot.
It may be someone reading about your company in the newspaper that shapes that perception. Your brand can also be shaped by how you look or dress at an event or what your website says and looks like. It can also be affected positively or negatively by your customer service team and how they interact with your customers. And, oh yes, even your logo and tagline will have an impact.
Credibility is important
Your brand needs to be credible. If your brand makes claims, you need to deliver on them, or your brand will suffer.
Think of Toyota. Their brand has long stood for quality and reliability. And it wasn’t just what they said in advertising. Toyota vehicles delivered. But when massive recalls were conducted to fix quality and major safety issues, Toyota’s brand was directly impacted. The integrity of consumer perceptions of Toyota was spinning out of control, and sales suffered. But what did Toyota do to fix the brand? Sure, they bought some ads, and they finally disclosed what they needed to disclose to the public. Most importantly, they fixed the problems. Fixing the product is what they had to do first, to rehabilitate their brand. Then, leaning on their historically good reputation made recovery of their brand possible.
A brand is only as good as your company and your product. It evolves, and it’s something that you have to manage. Your brand is who you are and who your customers expect you to be.
Next week I’ll discuss how to positively influence a brand.
Josh Sommers is president and CEO of Focus Media, a leading Hudson Valley advertising and public relations agency. He can be reached at josh@advertisingandpr.com or 294-3342, ext. 303. Read his blog at www.advertisingandpr.com. His column appears Fridays.
