Creating a Brand

5. Creating the Brand

Once you have worked out your core competencies, brand values, perceived quality and brand stretch, you can communicate them to your customers.

5.1 Build the message into everything your customer or potential customer sees and hears before they have any direct contact with your business.

• Make sure your company literature reflects your brand values.
• If necessary, redesign your logo and company stationery so it provides an immediate visual link to your brand values.
• Reconsider any advertising you may do. Is it in places that reflect your brand values? Does the copy reflect your brand values? (See Advertising strategy.)

5.2 Make sure your staff understand the brand values and believe in them.

• Your staff's attitude and behaviour will influence the success of your brand more than any promotional activity.Remember that if you make strong customer service a brand value, the brand is damaged if one customer feels that whoever they are talking to doesn't care.

5.3 Review your systems and make sure every point of contact that a customer or potential customer has reflects your brand values.

• For example, if being friendly is one of your brand values, make sure anyone who answers the telephone or has direct contact with customers is friendly.