What is a brand? To put it in simple terms; Your brand is what your customers say you are when you’re not looking, that’s your brand. Let’s take a look at brand positioning.

 

It is every utterance the outside world makes about what they think they know about you; both factual as in what you do [sell cars, plan weddings, make music etc] and emotional as in how you make them feel [happy, excited, uncomfortable etc].

 

People see your brand name; its letters, its a word or a few words, it’s fixed. People feel your brand, it’s emotional and fluid, if you don’t take the time to communicate your brand to the outside world on a consistent basis, someone else will and it may not be as flattering as you’d like without your input.

 

So let’s put the power into your hands! By taking the time to clearly articulate to yourself and your employees what your brand is and stands for, you can guarantee they will communicate it with supreme confidence to your prospects with every interaction.

 

We’re going to look at 5 essential building blocks to help you define your brand and understand your customers.

Brand Positioning

• Mission Statement:
• Vision Statement
• Brand Position
• Brand Personality
• Core Values

 

With these building blocks you’ll be able to build a brand that your customers love all while setting you apart from the competition.

Mission Statement

What it is and why you need it:

Your mission statement is meant to describe to the world what your businesses is at its core, why it exists, its reason for getting up in the morning. Your mission statement should at minimum define who your main customers are, the products and services you produce for them.

Quick Tips:

• Read other companies mission statements and get inspiration to develop your own
• Ask yourself “why do we exist?” and think about who you are serving and what problem you are solving for them
• Get Input from your team > Create 2-3 versions > Chose Final One

Examples:

• Sagicor Group Mission Statement: Sagicor is committed to the development of our staff, agents and the wider community that we serve, providing high quality financial solutions and outstanding service to our customers, while earning superior returns for our shareholders.
• The Gleaner Mission Statement: The Gleaner strives to always be the nation’s trusted source of news, information and commentary, with the expressed goal of helping people understand the many issues that touch their lives. All our publications will be readable and interesting as we strive to provide our readers with the news and information they need to understand their world and improve their lives.
• Grace Kennedy Group Mission Statement: Our Mission is to take the taste of Jamaican and other Caribbean foods to the world and world-class financial services to our region.

Vision Statement

What it is & Why You Need It:

Your Vision statement describes your overall goals and aspirations as a company. It includes the big dream for the company, the long term plan and the overall impact the company wishes to have on the world through its work. A carefully crafted vision statement is at the heart of every successful business.

Quick Tips:

• Read other companies vision statements and get inspiration to develop your own
• Ask yourself “what are the long term aspirations of our company?” think about how your company wishes to impact your team, customers and the world and how you plan to do it.
• Get Input from your team > Create 2-3 versions > Chose Final One

Examples

• Grace Kennedy Group Vision Statement: To be a Global Consumer Group delivering long term consumer and shareholder value, through brand building and innovative solutions in food and financial services, provided by highly skilled and motivated people.
• Cari-med Ltd Vision Statement: We are a fast expanding and highly diversified distributor in the Caribbean where the most talented employees aspire to work. We leverage our resources and unmatched capabilities to identify winning global opportunities and partnerships.
• Lasco Jamaica Vision Statement: To become a global corporate leader, through innovation and entrepreneurship. Driven by a passion for excellence and compassion for our fellow man, we will make LASCO a world name, synonymous with integrity, value and service.

Brand Positioning Statement

What it is & Why You Need It:

No matter the industry, effectively identifying where your brand should be positioned in the marketplace is the first step to true marketing success.A good positioning statement is a guidepost for your marketing efforts. It helps you maintain focus on your brand and its value proposition while you work on market strategy and tactics.

Quick Tips:

• Start by writing the following down on a piece of paper: [Brand Name] provides ___(Your Target Market)___ with ___(Unique Value Proposition)___ better than any other [competitor in your Industry]. We do this by ___(value delivery strategy)
• Your Target Market: Who are the people that you want to dedicate your company’s resources to giving value to?
• Unique Value Proposition: What products / services are you offering to your customers that you believe will make your brand a cut above the rest
• Value Delivery Strategy: What Channels are you going to use to deliver this value? via website? app? customer care etc.

 

Examples

• AVIS Positioning Statement: For business people who rent card. Avis is the company who will provide the best service because the employees own the company.
• Home Depot Positioning Statement: For do-it-yourselfers, Home Depot offers the best prices because we are the largest building supply company.
• Gmail Positioning Statement: For Google users who get a ton of email. Gmail is a free webmail service that lets you search rather than sort online other webmail providers. Gmail gives you 1GB of storage so you never have to delete a message again.

 

Brand Personality

What it is & Why You Need It:

If your brand was a person what would its personality be like? How would it behave and what characteristics would it be known for? These are the personality traits your brand needs to fully represent from here on out in all of its visual and verbal communications. Keeping your brand’s personality consistent is vital to your social media success

Quick Tips:

Write down a list of adjectives that you would like your brand to be known for. Here are a few to get you started

• Formal or funny?
• Big or small?
• Boring or surprising?
• Reserved or outspoken?
• Stylish or classic?
• Premium or inexpensive?
• Masculine or feminine?
• Rigid or flexible?
• Young or mature?
• Charming or chummy?

 

Examples

• MICHAEL KORS Brand Personality: Upper-class, glamorous and trendy
• BEATS BY DR. DRE Brand Personality: Young, trendy and rugged
• MAILCHIMP Brand Personality: Friendly, reliable and charming
• COCA-COLA Brand Personality: Happy, playful, refreshing, and all about sharing and having a good time.

 

Core Values

What it is & Why You Need It:

• Core values are the fundamental beliefs of your business. They help the people in your team determine if they are on the right path and fulfilling their business goals in a manner acceptable to the company; and they create an unwavering and unchanging guide to the philosophy that drives your business sucess. Core values communicate what you believe as a company and how you are working together toward a shared vision.

 

Quick Tips

• Think to yourself “what do we stand for as a company?” consider what you value the most, what you believe are the core beliefs that define who you are as a company.
• Brainstorm with your team
• Refine Your List

 

Examples

Lasco Group Core Values

• Care for our customers
• We respect our customers’ time and privacy.
• We are committed to achieving success for our team, agents and shareholders.
• Integrity In dealing with our customers, agents, staff and shareholders.
• Continuous improvement of our processes

 

Cari-med Ltd Core Values

• Integrity
• Customer Satisfaction
• Respect
• Care for People
• Accountability
• Passion for Winning

Conclusion

So what are the 5 essential building blocks to help you define your brand.?

Defining Your Brand

• Mission Statement:
• Vision Statement
• Brand Position
• Brand Personality
• Core Values

 

Your company has to evolve into more than just a set of products and services with a logo attached to it. Building a brand that people recognise and are loyal to isn’t an easy tasks, with this knowledge now in your arsenal we want you go off and become the beautiful brand building butterflies we know you are.