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Building a Powerful Brand

By Sandy Andrews

Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com, recently stated, “A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn a reputation by trying to do hard things well.”

Bezos is obviously not a novice in the area of brand development – a new study by research firm Millward Brown found that Amazon.com is the most trusted brand in the U.S. Rounding out the top 5 are FedEx, Downey, Huggies and Tide.

And then there are brands like AIG and BP that have not fared nearly as well.

The key difference? Trust. Would you do business with someone you didn’t trust? Neither will your customers. Your brand is your promise.

How can you build brand trust for your business?

By developing marketing tactics and messages that are relevant to your core consumers, you can establish a brand reputation that builds trust and increases value. Simply put, your company’s image and messaging should convey what’s important to your customers – not what’s important to you.

Communicate your brand and its benefits at each and every touch point – from the office site to the website. Customers quickly form an opinion about your business and what it represents – and how they feel about it.

Where do you start?

Let’s get back to basics. You have to know where you are in the marketplace (now), where you want to be (future) and then create the road map for how to get there (strategic marketing plan).  If you don’t control your brand identity (your path), the marketplace will determine it for you – and it may not be what you had in mind.

Bottom line: “A business based on brand is, very simply, a business primed for success,” said David F. D’Alessandro, former chairman, chief executive officer, and president, John Hancock Financial Services.

How do you communicate your brand value in day-to-day operations?

See our set of brand messaging services.

Related content:

1. Brand Strategy
2. Email Design Pivotal to Campaign Success
3. Building an Effective Lead Management Program

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