Before we continue, let’s look at what a brand is.
Let's define this in the most basic way anyone can understand.
A brand is the things people say about you when you’re not in the room.
Now, what is branding?
Branding is the process of creating a strong, positive perception of your company, and its products in your customer's minds.
In order to build a brand, there are 3 major "W’s" we need to take into consideration which are;
What do we stand for, who are we, and what will be our brand?
We should also know that;
A brand is shield from the vengeance of market forces. This implies, no matter how bad the market is, a brand can never be touched by it.
We should also note that there are some things the customer will buy because the brand is strong, even when there is no demand
See for example in the automotive space, say, Tesla.
Right from the heart of the pandemic, the shares of Tesla attended new records, their projected revenues were higher than their anticipated revenues.
How is it possible that in a world where there is a pandemic, where people are dying and families are been broken, there are still some people who are still thinking of efficient and more sustainable ways from moving from one place to the other and above all when most of us were not even driving but the tesla business was doing so well?
True there are other factors too, but for sure it was their branding, it is what they stand for, who they are, and what they represent, no matter how bad the market is, they will still make money.
So building a brand is not just for the customer to know who you are but for the customer to identify with you that they love what you do and the value you add to whatever they do.
The product needs to be an aspiration of the client's hopes or fears.
That is the what…
Now, the question is how do you do it?
1. You need to know who you are talking with, who is your ideal client? And please do not tell me your client is everybody because that is what we mostly say when such a question is being asked. You should note that if you are selling to everyone, then you are selling to no one.
you need to know exactly who you are talking to: their age, race gender, education, where do they leave, shop and work at if they buy something ask yourself why do they buy it,
what are the types of books they read, the type of movie they watch and so many other factors. These things are what we called a persona; which are you knowing who the client is by answering those questions. You need to understand these things, so you know how to make your Value proposition for the things that matter to the client.
2. You need to understand what they find important. you need to know what they find valuable and what they are willing to spend their time and money on, above all what are they willing to dedicate their attention to. if you are not connected with your client, and they are willing to pay attention, you can do as much publicity as you want and nothing will happen.
3. Remove yourself and your ego. So many companies have fallen into this and they fail.if you make a mistake between the brand of the product and the business you're building with your personal brand.
Just imagine you, your face, and everything you are leaves from the business for 24 months, do you think your business will be able to survive and grow? look at the Coca-Cola brand, it is very popular but I bet if I ask you who is the CEO of coca-cola, most of you will not know. Exactly, because the brand and the product had been institutionalized. And now they live in our imaginations and that is the power of that brand.
4. It has to be authentic. We live in a world where we are trying to be something which we think one has to be that thing. Be authentic about what you are, you’re beliefs, what you stand for.�you should note that what you believe in matters and where do you want your business and product to be.
When next you're planning to build a brand, you should take note of these steps above all the 3rd step which is removing yourself from the brand.
NB: personal branding is different from company branding.
Thanks for reading.