Live and breathe your brand

Brand values
The most successful brands have all embraced the fact that a brand is more than just a logo and a colour palette. A brand should be at the heart of a business, the true ethos of the company; to reach optimum brand strength (to be number one within your sector) this must be understood, communicated and displayed by all, directors and team alike.

Branding in any business is vital to a slick and cost effective sales and marketing process, and as corporate as this may seem, all team members must regard sales as a process from which they are employed and paid.

By understanding where you as a company sit in relation to brand awareness we can prepare the best possible plan of action to ensure you achieve and exceed you targets. I have listed the basics of branding below, it would be beneficial, in fact I would go so far as to say a necessity, to cascade this information to all staff, to motivate them to understand and share the vision of directors, thus becoming part of the sales process

Branding and corporate Identity.

Actual identity
This is the reality of where your company currently is, it includes the current service offering, the values and behaviour of staff and the overall performance of you as an organisation. Actual id can be influenced by management, structure and policies. By defining an accurate actual identity you provide an honest and strong foundation from which to build.

Communicated identity
This is the identity you as an organisation reveal through controllable communications and marketing activities. Typically, marketing tools such as advertising, pr, logo’s, letterheads, use of colour and design are used to present an image. In addition to controllable communications, a communicated id can also be derived from non controllable communications such as word of mouth. All communications such as brochures, media presentations, fact sheets etc. conform to a standard (corporate guidelines).

Conceived identity
This refers to the perceptions of your organisation by relevant stakeholders such as prospective clients, clients themselves, employees and the local community. Conceived identity should reflect the corporate image and reputation of your company, we recommend a sustained approach to continually improve the image of a company via strong pr, community links and the building of key relationships in particular.

Ideal Identity
Ideal identity is the optimum (best) positioning that you could achieve within your market sector.

Desired identity
This lives in the hearts and minds of directors. It is their vision for the development of the organisation. Vision should be based on analysis and research to ensure it is achievable and a goal as opposed to a dream. The vision of directors needs to be communicated at all levels, and all staff must be able to relate the vision to their role within your organisation personally. The old adage “You are only as strong as your weakest link” reinforces this practice. If all team members understand the vision of directors, they share the vision and know they are able and vital to the success of that vision.