Product Development

How can I build and manage my brand?

Your company does not need to be huge to have a recognised brand, particularly in your own marketplace. But wherever you operate, or whatever size company you are, you must manage your brand closely so that it reflects the values of your company.

Managing expectations

A brand presents and represents the personality, values and culture of an organisation to all its audiences, both internal (its managers and staff) and external (its customers, suppliers and the public). A brand represents all of you, in the sense that it stands for what you do as a company, who you are, and the principles that you stand for. When people see your brand, they know what to expect from it - and from you as a company.

Everyone's got one

Remember that every company has a brand simply by existing. A choice then has to be made: whether to do nothing with it; or to build on what it can deliver in business advantage.

Establishing a brand in your marketplace can involve redesigning company literature, training staff to interact with customers in a certain way, your web site or the company image, as well as defining the internal workings and ethics of your company.

Aspirations

You need to identify what your company is - or what you want it to be - and what it aspires to be. You must then be clear on what it is that you need to do to develop your company, so that it embodies these brand values. But remember that in the future, as your business changes, so will your brand. This process must then be managed properly. In the end, this is what will give your company the chance to compete, on the basis of what makes it special.

You can use design to improve your business through the products and services you offer, and you can double its effectiveness by planning for and using design strategically. By thinking the big design picture, rather than focussing on one single product or service, you can link together all of the parts of your company that benefit from design and create a powerful business response that is irresistible to your customers.