…so why treat it like it is?
When it comes to brand integration or brand development, many businesses think as long as they have a great logo and tagline they’re set. You can create a campaign and slap a logo on it and you’re done. But that doesn’t always work. Your logo is like make-up. It may make you look pretty, but it’s what’s underneath that counts. All the make-up in the world won’t hide a dysfunctional personality. A logo is not your brand. If your brand is struggling take some time to date it.  Be truthful and honest. You just might get lucky!

Here are three brand development steps for businesses:

1) Get a personality 

Discover what your brand stands for. Be honest with yourself. Like any relationship, if you don’t know what you stand for, then how can you be honest with your relationships? Likewise, if you don’t know what you want your brand to be about, then how will anyone else know? You have to discover your voice.

Take the time to truly look at your business. Be brutally honest. Try and define at least five characteristics you want your business to embody. Make sure they aren’t characteristics that make you say “duh”. For example a bank may want to say they are “secure”. But isn’t that the definition of a bank? I put my money in one because it is secure. Don’t tell me you’re secure if that is an expectation. Look more for personality traits that will create an emotion in people. So instead of a bank being safe, secure, and honest – it might be convenient, flexible, and helpful. Define your unique personality traits. Begin to build a picture of what you believe your brand is all about.

2) Define your dream date

All right, you know what your business stands for now, but what type of consumer wants to use your business?  Who are you trying to attract? You’re all dressed up and sitting at a table just waiting for Mr. or Mrs. Right to sit down. You need to define the type of personalities you expect your buyers to have. Now is the time for you to look at who is actually using your products or services. Profile their demographics. Learn about their spending habits. Are they younger? Older? Do they have families? This is important. You need to understand your consumers so you can offer them the products and services they want or need.

3) Fish the pond

So here we are. You know what you stand for. You know who you want to attract. But do you know what they are thinking? It’s time to get out and find out what people are actually thinking. It’s time for a relationship. That takes understanding and communication. You need to talk to your customers and find out what they think about your brand.  This is one area you don’t want to skimp on. This is how you find the real, meaningful data. This is how you develop a strong bond with your customer. This is where true branding happens and lives happily ever after.

So there you have it. Three easy steps you can do now for brand development. Discover your values, understand your customer’s values, and research their opinions about your brand. Arm yourself with this information and you’re sure to get lucky.

Kurt Sepf
Director of Creative Services/Fusionfarm