A Definition of Branding

If you ask 10 marketing professionals to give you their definition of 'branding" you'll probably get 10 different answers. While there are a plethora of books and articles out now about branding, I find most small business owners and those who work for non-profits are more confused than ever about branding.

So now, for your consideration, I present my own definition of branding:

Branding is the perception of your business that's created at every point of contact.

Branding is different than your brand. Your brand is what you create: a logo, a color palette, a website, marketing materials, etc. And those are all important because you only get one opportunity to make a good first impression. But branding isn't always the impression you intend to make; it's the impression that's created by someone's perception. In the world of branding, perception is reality. Sometimes our best attempts to communicate get misinterpreted.

The good news is that effective branding doesn't have to cost a lot of money. I'll write more about this in another posting, but for now I'll say that providing customers with a good experience goes further to create loyalty, and can have the added benefit of employing one of the most effective (and free) marketing tactics you could ever have: word-of-mouth.