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Building a brand is a challenge. A brand is all about perception, and as frustrating as it might be, the manufacturer or seller does not control how customers, potential customers, or the general public perceives a brand. That said, the manufacturer or seller can certainly help influence how their brand is perceived.

Brand and reputation are closely linked. Sometimes customers will form emotional attachments to specific brands, and they will spend more money to obtain one brand over another. A strong brand stands out and contains an element that customers identify with.

Brands contain attributes, and it is through these attributes that a customer forms a connection to the brand. For example, the brand logo may include an image of a smiling sun, which could remind customers of warmth and summer fun.

Think about how you present your brand, and how you shape your customer's perceptions.

Brand Attributes
Brand attributes do not always translate the same way in different cultures or geographical regions. Keep cultural sensitivity in mind when creating a tagline or slogan that reinforces your brand. It may not always translate into foreign markets with the same meaning, and could possibly even translate negatively.

Brand Identity
Create a face for your business. Graphic continuity is a critical aspect of brand building. The brand identity should be replicated in all facets of the company's image, such as invoices, letterhead, packaging, uniforms, advertising, promotional materials, etc. All aspects of your public image should encompass your professional identity. This means that your company or product logo, name, color scheme, etc, should be evident in your website, on your letterhead, in promotional materials, videos, packaging, and ALL aspects of your business.

Brand Definition
Define your brand in a way that you want others to see your business. Use a unique selling proposition to convey the traits you want associated with your business.

Brand Messaging
We often hear large companies or political candidates talk about staying on message. Employees at all levels should reinforce the company message. It is important that all staff members completely understand the image or "message" that you and your branding department wants portrayed. The brand message would be evident in all aspects of the business.

Brand Relevance
A brand is not really relevant if it is not part of the purchase process. Building brand relevance is an ongoing process, and not something that happens overnight. Brand relevance is all about keeping a brand current and part of the proliferation of brands in a specific market or industry. A strong brand will motivate a customer to purchase.

Brand Differentiation
Find out the strengths and weaknesses of competitive brands. Determine how the brands of your closest competitors are perceived, and determine how best to use that information to leverage your company or product brand. Differentiate a brand to make it distinctive and to distinguish it from the competition. The absence of brand differentiation can lead to price competition and low profit margins.

Defend Brand
Use automated tools like Google Alerts and other ego feeds to monitor and defend your product or company brand. Marketers should actively participate in online conversations. In addition, they should register their company in social networks to protect their brand.

Branded Content
All content should be branded. If executives are speaking at conferences, their visual presentations should be branded. The website, product brochures, and any other marketing or promotional materials should all include brand identifiers.

Rankings for Brand
There is nothing more tragic to a marketer than to discover that a competitor ranks higher in the search engines for their brand name. You must OWN your brand in the search engines, this means you may have to bid on terms, and you may have to optimize for your brand.

Brand Glossary

Build a reputation with your brand and prosper.

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