What is Corporate Branding and Why Should I Care?

What is Corporate Branding?

From Wikipedia:

A brand is a name or trademark connected with a product or producer. Brands have become increasingly important components of culture and the economy.

The brand image is a symbolic construct created within the minds of people and consists of all the information and expectations associated with a product or service.

A brand which is widely known in the marketplace acquires brand recognition.

What do you think of when you smell a pizza? I think of Pizza Hut. Their brand (Pizza Hut) has been associated with pizza in my mind. Now do I only buy Pizza Hut pizza? No! But I think about Pizza Hut pizza when ever I want a pizza.

When you think of tooth paste what comes to mind. For me it is Crest or Colgate. In this case two brands come to mind. So I will buy one of them most of the time. Branding works.

So you want to create a brand identification for you business and over time you want it to become a household word in your niche.

What do I do first?

If you do not have a brand to begin with you are free to create your own. If you are starting out with a brand you want to build its reputation and recognition.

You could use your name or your companies name as a brand. It is probably better not to use your name because it would be more difficult to sell that business. So consider using your corporate name or some other name that describes your business or product.

A good way to find a brand name to use is keywords. Keywords are those terms people would use to find your business online. If you can find a keyword or keyword phrase that describes your business, not used by anyone else and easily spelled, consider using it.

The advantage of using a keyword is it would help in search engine placement. Of course the more popular the term the more difficult it is to get on the first page of the search results. But if the keyword works consider using it.

And if you find a good keyword to use as your brand, you should consider using it in the URL for your online business.

What next?

Now you set up your web site and start to build your brand by offering an excellent product at a reasonable price that solves a problem. You offer an excellent customer experience. And you start to market your business to an ever increasing population of potential customers.

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