10 tips to building a successful BRAND

Customers today now have more choices to choose from when it comes to buying of a product and | or service. Competition increases daily as there are several products solving almost the same problem for the end users. Hence the need for a competitive brand positioning. A brand is defined as a name, terminology, design, symbol or other features that distinguishes a product from another. A strong brand is invaluable as the battle for customers' attention intensify day by day. Branding is a process of forming memories, emotions and patriotic relationship around your brand in the consumer's brain. Below are tips to help you build a strong brand:

1. Start with your passion: Build a brand around what you love to do best. What you can do without being forced or coerced is what you should build your brand around.

2. Represent your brand: You should be your brand's biggest and first ambassador and advocate. If you don't adequately and passionately represent your brand, nobody will buy into it.

3. Have an identity: Choose a creative design, logo, colour, slogan etc that adequately represent what you believe in and stand for and promote it.

4. Engage your customers: If you must know what your customers really want from you or think about your brand, you must take a deliberate effort to engage them in talks - one on one discussion, opinion poll, questionnaire etc. The feedback you get will help you to improve on your performance.

5. Involve your team members: Your employees and everyone that works with you must have a proper understanding of your brand and adequately represent your brand positively.

6. Be where your customers are: For your brand to gain the loyalty of your customers, you must strategically position it where your customers are. This is a major reason the social media is a very key medium where your brand presence should be felt.

7. Be original: Your look, message and service delivery should be authentic and not comparable with another. That way you create a unique experience for your customers.

8. Be in the community: Make conscious effort to show random acts of kindness towards your customers and make philanthropic contribution to the community where your customers are.

9. Refine your brand language: In order to kill boredom and monotony, it is important that you periodically refine your brand language especially following trends, culture and taste.

10. Excellent service delivery: The well designed logo, tag line and brilliant colours may get the customers, but what will keep them coming back is backing up the paparazzi with an excellent service delivery either on goods sold or services rendered.

Successful branding is the key to outdoing competitors and creating customer loyalty. It is a marketing strategy that helps to establish the presence of a brand in the customers' mind and attract | keep customers.

Femi Edwards