Whether you have reached the enlightened point of genius or not, the key to a strong brand is simplicity. Like I always say, “Anyone can make branding complicated and muck it up for the customer – it takes a genius to keep things simple.” Everyone has the potential to have that genius – being successful means that you were able to take the lid off your genius jar.
When a brand is simple and genius, it is easily understood so that no employee or manager is stumped when you ask:
- What is your company’s message?
- Who is your crowd?
- Where are you going as a company?
- How will you get there?
These seem like easy questions but they are not always easily answered – not even by brand managers … that’s a scary thought.
Like anything, branding can easily turn into something that is harder than it should be. Sometimes it helps to take a step back and look at your company from an outsider perspective. Evaluate the core values of the company and then take a look at your company from all angles. Do the core values permeate from the company’s core to its consumer? Or, do they get lost somewhere in between? These core values are one of the main building blocks to developing your brand.
Once you develop your brand, a mixture of some of your own genius added to you and your company’s core values, you can truly be happy with your brand because you know that you cooked it up from scratch. Of course, everyone knows everything tastes better when it is made from scratch …. Yum. Simple and delicious.
Brand well and prosper!
Andy Cleary