Know-How Exchange : Branding

A good branding strategy starts with a great product and remarkable user experience. A brand image is a collection of all the things someone in your target audience perceives about you and your business. It includes what you tell them, what it says on your website, what others say about you, and a lot of other things, but it always includes their direct experience with you and your product(s).

The brand's image exists exclusively in the minds of your target audience, so if you want to have a strong branding strategy you need to begin by ensuring you are delivering high value to your customers. Without that you're wasting your time and money.

thanks, mgoodman, with an excellent description. May I quote you on that?

One thing he described was the perception of others about your product or service. How can you find that out? One way is to ask them, to survey them. What do they like most about your company? Why did they buy from you? How do they perceive you to be different than competitors?

If you are just starting out, you don't want to create, "buyers remorse" by challenging their decision, asking too many questions of your first customers. But one thing you can do as you begin is to create a profile of the type of customers you are seeking, and interview them, asking them about their purchasing experience and the services provided by your competitors. At this stage, you're not trying to impose your ideas or perspectives or perceived differences upon them, rather, you are trying to gather information on their perspective, their opinions, their point of view. Good luck.