What Makes A Brand Successful #115

Question from Sarah: What makes a brand successful?

Thank you for the question, Sarah.

A brand is not what a lot of people think.

A brand is not the logo and the tagline.

Actually, a logo has a small impact on a brand.

There are several things that make up a brand.

I’ll tell you the most important things in branding, in no particular order:

Consistency:

A CEO of a company I used to work for, always told us he wanted to be the next Starbucks or the next McDonalds. (It’s funny because we were not in the food industry, we were a service provider in the Oil and Gas Industry) But, he used to say that in order to do so we need to be consistent.

For example, he could be in -40C temperature in Canada one day, and the next day in Hawai, or Brasil and every time he walked into Starbucks anywhere in the world he knew what the smell would be like, the look and exactly what the coffee would taste like.

So being consistent is one of the top ones

Purpose: This may be the top branding tip –

Why do you do what you do?

Who do you do it for?

Whats the real reason behind it?

And, is there a cause or movement people can join by having your product.

Customer support: This one should be a no-brainer, but many entrepreneurs will have zero support, no guarantees, and even worse is not caring.

It is very important that customer support doesn’t sleep or take a vacation, and response time should be always in less than 24 hours.

Loyalty: You need to develop some sort of loyalty program with your customers. Discounts and giveaways are one way to start a loyalty “cult”

Some brands give you the sense of belonging

Be Different/ Unique: The easiest way to stand out is if you are or have something unique.

If you have a vision, product or service that is different than everything else, you are already creating a special brand.