Four W’s of Branding

Of all the things in business you can make difficult, branding has to be close to the top of the list.

We all know the importance of branding, and brand management, and as such tend to over think it.

Branding really comes down to answering these four questions and then remaining consistent to your answers as implement your marketing messages.

This is the foundation of a great brand, focus on it while building yours.

Who Are You?

Seems simple on the surface, but often overlooked. Your brand will reflect who you are as a person, and as a company. What do you stand for, what is your mission, do you have core values and principals that drive your business decisions? All of those go into what makes you, you. And it’s the first step in fleshing out your brand.

What Do You Do?

What does your business do? This one is pretty straight forward, it’s essentially your elevator speech, or how you would sum up your business if given 30 seconds to talk about it. Focus on your core competencies when answering “what do you do”; because while we may think we’re all things to everybody, in reality there are specialties within our businesses that should be highlighted.

Why Does it Matter?

This is a tough one for many. Exactly why does what you do matter? How does your business touch people, interact with the customer, in such a way that it is relevant? Until you know why you matter, and to whom you matter, you can’t begin to develop the proper messages that will act as the foundation of your brand.

What Makes You Different?

If you’re exactly the same as the next guy it’s going to be hard to develop a meaningful brand. The good news is hardly anyone is exactly the same as the next guy. You have strengths, beliefs, ideas, and business models that make you different. Your answers to the other three questions should help you realize your differences, and what makes you unique. Focus on your competitive advantage, and when it comes to building a brand remember to celebrate your differences.

In a Nutshell

That’s really all there is to developing the messages that will build your brand. Forget logos, fonts, colors, or any other brand building tool until you answer the questions above. Those are brand strengtheners, not brand builders, knowing the four W’s is the foundation from which to build on.

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