Now, I’m not an expert in branding – but I am an expert in creating more of what you want. Most people don’t get what they want from their brand because of 3 basic misconceptions.

3 misconceptions about branding

• A great brand establishes credibility.
• A great brand is all about attracting customers.
• A great brand is something a designer or brand manager does for you.

There is some truth in all of these, but if these three points sum up your approach to branding, you are probably not getting all the business you deserve and more importantly the quality of business you want.

3 steps to a great brand

1. Work out who you are – I mean, work out who you really are. Make a list of your personal characteristics as well as business ones, warts and all, and express that in your brand. List all your bad points, too, and realise the positive benefits in them. If you’re stubborn or impatient, then your brand may be about being committed to delivery no matter what.
A great brand will establish your credibility – but it is much more about presenting the essence of who you are.

2. Decide your ideal client – I don’t just mean by sector, which is how businesses usually define their target market. Decide who you really like to do business with. Be really specific about who they are, and don’t forget in your list of criteria you may want to add ‘pays the bills on time.’ Since people do business with people they know, like, and trust, finding clients who are ‘your type of people’ makes doing business more fun and improves attraction and retention, too.
A great brand will attract customers – but if it truly represents who you are, it will attract customers who are attracted to your core values, not to an image you think you should fulfill.

3. Work with a branding expert who understands you – when looking at branding, it’s easy to get seduced by the pretty pictures and produce branding that ‘looks nice.’ This is just the external stuff, the icing on the cake. Great branding is a marriage of the internal (who you are) and the external (attractive design). Working with an intuitive brand manager who understands you ensures that your brand doesn’t just look nice but ‘feels real,’ too.
A great brand can’t be done for you – your brand already exists in the essence of who you are. No designer on earth can express it for you until you’ve worked out what that is.