How the strength of your brand can determine the success of your business.
It's interesting how much confusion there is around the word Brand.
In this article we will attempt to bring to you a brand perspective that will hopefully stimulate discussion at your next board-level meeting.
Let's start with what is mostly accepted in the creative and business world around what a company Brand is.
Most people accept that a brand represents what people feel about your company. It is certainly not just another name for your logo, it goes well beyond that. In simple terms your brand is your reputation, so having a strong brand that everyone feels positive about is surely what every company should strive for.
But is there more?
Well in a word yes - we believe that a strong brand can also act as an insurance policy that protects the very large investment that companies make every year to keep their business going.
Investments like staff, infrastructure and assets.
For some of our clients this can run into millions of pounds hence the recognition that a strong brand can act as an insurance policy that helps to maintain and improve their return on this annual investment.
Here's a simple example to explain this further.
Let's take the cost of your staff. It has been well documented that companies with exceptional people will grow to become much better businesses compared to companies that fail to attract highly talented individuals.
So what attracts the very best people to a company and more importantly what keeps them there?
More often than not it's the strength of the brand.
But brand equity or brand strength is not a topic that you hear too often at boardroom level. Conversations around success tends to be more traditional in nature and based around the company offering 'great career opportunities', 'attractive remuneration packages' or a 'fantastic company culture' as strategies for attracting great people.
But if you boil it down, people are attracted to companies because they simply have a good feel about them.
In the B2B (business to business) world it's what they have heard about them, their gut feel when they walk through the door, how the company presents itself, the overall culture of the company.
This is the company brand at play - it happens around us all the time but directors of many businesses sometimes fail to acknowledge it, analyse it or invest in it.
And this is surprising because harnessing the power of a brand by articulating what it is that you offer and what makes you stand out from the rest is what all successful companies put their success down to.
Why do we refer to a strong brand as an insurance policy?
Because your brand can attract and retain the best people and great people are the lifeblood of running a successful company. Your brand really is your ultimate insurance policy in that respect.
Furthermore the leverage that can be gained from a strong brand in terms of the value of your company is something that most investment companies understand but sadly a large number of business owners don't focus on.
Investors recognise that a strong brand that embodies the importance of clear and compelling communications helps small to medium size companies punch well above their weight.
Brand strength helps companies to win contracts and build their business at a faster rate than those who don't invest in their brand.
That's why companies who attract outside investment are encouraged by investors to use it to build their brand as a critical first step towards achieving higher and faster rates of growth.
And in terms of protecting your infrastructure through investing in your brand. Well in most cases the success of a company comes down to how successfully they run the infrastructure which underpins day-to-day operations.
And in this area it is also well documented that companies who invest in improving their internal communications enjoy a marked improvement in productivity and buy-in to new systems and processes.
Summary.
In summary, to protect your annual investment in your staff, assets and infrastructure and to leverage greater growth from such investments the very best companies do this by focussing on building their brand through improved communications.
We have witnessed and have been involved in seeing this across many sectors and with companies of all sizes.
You don't even have to embrace the term 'brand' you just need to be mindful of the positive impact that clear, engaging and regular communications can have on your bottom line.
This post was written by Art Department Managing Director Gerry Kelly, drawing from notes on a talk he delivered for Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce.
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