Integrity is the first step in branding. You can’t promote something that is hollow. The company, product, service, individual or whatever you are branding has to have integrity.
Branding is about trust in the familiar. Meeting expectations. When your customers and potential customers recognize the “face” of your brand, it must perform/act the way they expect.
If your brand promise is FAST, you better be fast, really fast.
If your brand promise is COOL, you better be cool, really cool.
If your brand promise is… you get the idea.
What’s your brand promise. Are you? Really?!
Paying off on the reputation is the first step in branding.
Flickr photo courtesy of Tracy~ by creative commons.
www.resources-results.com
This is a super message. Most people think that branding is just for the big guys with lots of marketing dollars, but you’ve focused on the fact that it’s really the promise that you make to your customers. A solid brand delivers what is perceived to be promised. And all of us can do that. In fact, I think that how well you deliver this promised experience to your customers can actually reduce the amount of dollars you have to spend “convincing” the market that you do what you promise.