Q & A With FDG: KEY TO BUSINESS SUCCESS – DISTINCT BRAND IDENTITY

The brand is accepted as businesses most valuable asset. Yet, I am confounded by the number of businesses I encounter that spend most of their time and energy on their product offering and not their brand. With the choice’s consumers have, that is unfortunate as the “Keys to Business Success – Distinct Brand Identity”.

Many people consider the brand to being, the logo, the name or the product. Yet they are surprised to learn that the word AIR is a three-letter acronym that defines branding:

     Allure – to attract.

     Interaction – a mutual or reciprocal action or influence.

     Results – a consequence or outcome.

The brand is a person’s gut feeling about a product or service. Why?  It is a guy feeling as brands are defined by individuals, not companies or markets. It is not what business say it is. It is what their customer says it is. This is businesses identity, their image and the reputation they wish to portray. A strong brand identity takes time and nurturing and is a team effort, not just an exercise by senior management. When a business undertakes the task to create their distinct brand identity, they would be wise to incorporate the brand’s 4Ps? The brand’s 4Ps you ask?

 

The Brand’s 4Ps:

1. Purpose: “The reason for which something is done or created” This defines the Why of the brand. Why is the business in the business it is in?
2. Point of differential: “Factor that differentiates a product from its competitors. What benefit does your brand offer that your competitors cannot offer?
3. Promise: “A declaration or assurance that one will do a particular thing or that a particular thing will happen”. What tangible benefit makes the brand desirable, is authentic and credible and can be kept, every time?
4. Personality: “The combination of characteristics or qualities that form an individual’s distinctive character”. What are the emotional attributes you wish to be associated with your brand?

The creation of the brand is a marathon, not a sprint to the finish line. As noted by 2 influential branding professionals:

“The brands that are going to not only survive but grow are the ones that go beyond products to helping customers lead a better life”

– Mr. John Torella, J.C. Williams Group

 

“The person in control of your brands is not you. It is the customer. There has been a fundamental shift in power where consumers now have control over the future and the direction your brands will take. And that is okay. It is just the way it is now”.

– Ms. Linda Eatherton, Managing Director and Partner at Ketchum Global Food and Beverage Practice

 

Still not persuaded by the power of the brand, here are four key points to remember:

 

1. If business does not brand themselves, their competitors will do it for them!
2. Products and services can be copied. The brand cannot be copied!
3. A strong brand identity generates referrals.
4. Consumers shop Rationally! They purchase on Emotion!

 

Richard Baker is the founder and President of Food Distribution Guy. Seek assistance with your brand identity, forward us an email: richard@fooddistributionguy.com. Or contact us here – we’re here to help your brand succeed!