Marketers spend a lot of time coming up with a brand name, an it takes a lot of creative and logical thinking to draw a brand logo, but what does your brand really mean? What does it stand for?
The term “brand” goes beyond your company logo or name; it represents something more profound, something we can’t fully grasp just by looking at the surface. Your brand is the complete identity of your company. While you might spend a few hours creating a memorable name and a striking logo, developing a brand is an ongoing journey.
Brad VanAuken answers the question “What Is A Brand?” :
A brand is a source of a promise to its customers. It promises relevant differentiated benefits. It does so not only to place itself into the purchase consideration set, but even more importantly, to be the brand chosen from that purchase consideration set. This is also sometimes referred to as the brand’s unique value proposition. Whether it is called a unique value proposition or a promise of relevant differentiated benefits, it is very important that the promise or proposition be delivered consistently at each point of customer contact, time after time.
I would like to view a “brand” as a person’s name. It isn’t just a word or a common noun – it is by name that we recognize each person’s identity, and personality. The person’s dignity and honor is all attached to his name, and this is also true in brands. As a person, we do not want to be remembered only by name, we do not want everyone to know our names and forget who we really are. We like people to remember who and what we are.
On that note, brands symbolizes not only the company but the people who are behind it, the quality of their product, the efficiency of their services and how committed they are to their customers.
And that being said, the most important is to nurture and build the brand by actions that are appropriate.