Is your brand breaking any promises?

What is a brand? It is the identity of your company or product as it is perceived by your customers and the wider marketplace. It covers the cultural, emotional and behavioural responses to a company by its customers.

With careful deployment, a brand can be crucial to a product earning and retaining a loyal customer following. It's more than just a great logo, it's about creating a powerful idea that gives a brand it's identity and encompasses the brand name, position, associations and personality. Essentially it is a promise - a good brand should generate instant recognition and positive associations for customers. A successful brand delivers on that promise.

An established brand is a very valuable corporate asset. Although it is common to make subtle tweaks to a company brand, a total revision of the brand can be devastating to the company if not approached strategically. Additionally, a purely aesthetic re-brand can earn your company a place on the 'phantom brand' list - reserved for companies who delegate the management of their brand to the marketing department rather than viewing each and every employee a 'brand embassador'.

Far from being about superficial 'label' changes, re-branding presents an opportunity to enhance, or even overhaul perceptions from the ground up. It is about reflecting a positive client experience derived from real value rather than modern colours, logos and clever slogans. Moreover - company's brand should reflect its vision and the values of its shareholders. To be successful, it must be supported by the business culture and be validated by all staff. It is about realising a philosophy of how a business should operate, and developing an ethos around which client relationships can be built.

So what is your company's brand promise? Does your perception of the brand align with your customers perceptions? Have you asked them?

Many companies launch into a re-branding project without adequately defining the brand promise. Many more are unaware that they have a brand to begin with.

Before undertaking to re-brand or re-position your company, investigate how your customers view your company and most importantly, why they are your customer rather than your competitor's. You may be surprised at the results, and have a whole new basis for differentating yourself from your competition.