Building a Successful Brand By Scott L. Steward

[CEO of Break Bread]

As you contemplate starting your own business, consider this
infallible rule: You are the brand. At this stage in the game, people
will not buy from you, or invest in you, until you have proven the
worthiness of your brand. Look at McDonald’s, the burger king of fast
food; Nike has a lock on the retail foot wear industry; even FedEx are
the experts at moving products from one place in the world to another.
These brand icons, if you will, are trusted. You may not patronize
them or even like them for whatever reasons, but it is hard to deny
their worthiness in the global market place.
As you continue down your N’terprising journey, you have to consider
the importance of your brand and how to develop your brand worthiness.
The question is how do you build a brand to epic proportions? How do
you become a staple in the marketplace? To begin, let’s look at what
doesn’t usually work. When it comes to consumers spending their hard
earned dollars with you, consumers demand the same level of customer
service as any established corporation. Far too many times small
business owners get their first piece of business (usually from a
family member or friend) and treat the business with as much respect
as the ground they walk on. It’s important to note that that same
family member or friend, who gave you the first order, will ruin your
business quicker than any stranger could if you don’t deliver as
promised. Family and friends expect to be treated with the most
superior level of customer service that one could ever afford. Your
objective is to bend over backwards to please your customers.
Scenario: someone you know gives you your first order. Your business
plan says the turnaround time is two days. A week goes by and you
haven’t delivered. The customer calls looking for their product
(mistake number one) and you respond with the most unprofessional
business buzz kill of all time, “I got you”. Obviously you don’t.
One of the main reasons new businesses fail is because they don’t
treat the familiar customers the same as the unfamiliar customers.
Some people think, ‘well I know them so I’ll take care of them later’.
This will kill your business before it ever gets started. From the
moment you declare your business open for operation, every order must
be executed with the highest level of customer service possible.
To build an equitable brand, realize that every customer counts.
Understand that at this level, you are always conducting business.
From the moment you enter a room, to the moment you leave, you are
establishing your brand. Historic brands are generally built on
trust. How well do consumers trust your ability to deliver what you
promise? In brand building you must execute, what you promise, when
you promise, at all cost. Not only must you execute, you must execute
with the highest level of quality you can muster. This does not mean
you have to go out and spend ridiculous amounts of money before you
get your product or service established, but it does mean you have to
be very creative and resourceful with what you have.
Building your brand also requires you must be consistent. In the
movie Casino, Robert DeNiro, and a colleague are eating a blueberry
muffin when DeNiro notices one muffin is bursting at the seams with
blueberries while the other muffin barely has any blueberries.
DeNiro, the casino manager, rushes to the kitchen to express to his
cook his disappointment in the consistency of the product (the
muffin). DeNiro goes on to explain the importance of consistency of
the product. Consistency or lack there of, can ruin your business.
Some customers will interpret your level of consistency with
carelessness of your business. Building a brand that is reliable and
consistent requires you to be a stickler for some of the smallest, yet
most important, elements of your business. Determine what’s important
to your customers and deliver it to them consistently.
In building your brand, take into consideration that your brand
cannot, and should not be all things to all people. It’s easy to say
that everyone will want and use your product or service, but it’s more
important to be all you can be to those who are currently loyal to
your brand. It’s easier, and more importantly, less expensive to
satisfy current, happy customers than spend additional dollars mining
for new customers. Re-invest in current customers and they will bring
you new business.
Lastly, be unconventional in your marketing efforts. In what
creative ways can you positively exploit your brand? What
partnerships can you establish to add value to your brand? Take for
example a new high priced, sit-down burger restaurant opens right next
door to McDonald’s. Are the two restaurants really competing with
each other? Can they co-exist? In this case, it really comes down to
much more than the product; it’s all about consumer perceptions
between the two brands. This is the life line of marketing.
Be patient while building your brand; it takes time to build an
iconic brand. It’s much like raising a child. Be very productive of
your brand and treat it as if your life depended on it. After all a
solid reputable brand, is priceless.