Your brand is not tangible elements like your logo or tagline. It is the perception of you held in the minds of your audience based on who you are, what you stand for, why you exist, and how you are different. Brand development defines this image while branding implementation communicates it. It is important to develop an authentic brand through understanding your origins and customers, then strategically mapping your brand foundation to goals. This ensures your brand remains true while preference, awareness, and loyalty are built over time.

1. Watch the full episode

2. Hello everyone –
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Today, we interrupt our social media
series to talk about BRANDING

3. Well, lets start with the exposing right off the bat…
I’ll tell you what it is not..
•Your brand is not your logo.
•Nor is it your tag line.
•It’s not your mission
•It’s not the products or services you offer
•It’s not the name of your company
Your brand is what people think about you when they think about you. It’s
your company’s perception in the mind of your public
You see, brands are developed with the public’s mind with or without the
company’s involvement.
• Because people have opinions naturally.
• They hold their own perceptions naturally as a human being.

4. Your brand is not your logo.
Your brand is not your
campaign tag line.

5. You have your own official definition too, don’t you?
I do:
Yes, quite “official sounding” with beautiful words… now,
what does it mean?

6. Branding and Brand development are what happens when the company
starts to get involved in the building and construction of their brand – of
the company’s perception in the mind of the consumer.
It’s the process of developing, and influencing, the company’s
perception, so that it can be used to help the business become a
remembered, and preferred (a preferred business) in the marketplace.
I’d say that’s a great way to break down those the keywords of phrases:
•Brand Development is the defining of a company’s professional brand
image and how it will be showcased in the marketplace
•Brand Implementation is using that image (that perception) to better
communicate with the business’s consumer audiences.
•Branding is the term that encompasses both of these

7. But I will tell you why you need to be involved in developing your
brand. It’s centered around what the brand does for you as a
business.
•You need it to define who you are internally and externally
•You need it to communicate to your potential and existing
customers so that you can become remembered, chosen, and
preferred in business.
•You need it to be efficient and effective and consistent, in your
communication efforts.

8. Also because
•Branding (using your brand to your benefit) has been proven
to be successful over time.
•Brand is what differentiates and separates companies that
provide similar products or services.
•Brand is more powerful than pricing.
•Brand is what makes a business recognizable.
•Brand is what makes a business memorable.
•Brand is what persuades.
•Brand brings value to your business.

9. Now In that clip, you mentioned Coca-cola… they have build
immense value in the marketplace based on their brand and
political sway, remember? Our Coca-cola series we did where
their brand not only won them government contracts but also
gave them influence on the laws regarding sugar restrictions?
You also said company that “have no brand” – we may need to
clarify that….
Yes, that is not what I actually meant. What I meant was
companies that have no ESTABLISHED brand. Brands are going to
happen whether the company is involved or not, like I said
before, but it takes that company’s involvement to really
“establish” that brand and make claims to the brand and what it
means.

10. So let’s talk about that… how do you go about establishing a brand?
Well there are two areas, which we’ve actually already mentioned:
• Brand Development
• – the cognitive homework that goes into defining who you are as
a company
• And then on-going Branding
• – which is using the brand in the marketplace
Now, in brand development we look at defining who you are, what you
are going to represent, how you want to be known in the marketplace.
And this isn’t pie in the sky is it? No, not at all. It has to be realistic and
true for it to work properly… so there is a lot of discovery that goes into
uncovering your brand inclinations.

11. We start with looking at the founder’s vision when they first decided to
have a company. Way on back. Yes, the origin… the original purpose,
what was it? Does it still apply today and to the future?
We look at your behavior and manner as a business – how do you act? So
we can be true to what customers will actually be seeing. We don’t want
to build a brand on the business being understanding and calm if their
manner is all aggressive and pushy. Absolutely, it would ring false to the
public, so it wouldn’t work. But there are no wrong answers.
Understanding and calm isn’t better than aggressive and pushy, but it is
different. Brand helps a company figure out just how they are going to be
different from their competitors.
So we look at the differentiators to determine positioning, your
messaging – that it what you should be saying to the public, we look into
current company perceptions…

12. Both internally – How do you see yourself? How do your
employees see you, as a business?
And externally, if you have already been in the marketplace,
what does the public think about you now? We have to take
that into account as well. We also look at:
• the brand mission
• the personality of the company
• company’s unique selling position
• professional messaging with a brand voice
• consistent, supportive look & feel for the brand

13. Then we go into determining how we are going to
communicate those factors in the marketplace by
developing strategic marketing options.
Now, this is all part of the Straight Line Marketing
Process… which you can find out more about at
straightlinemarketingprocess.com
Yes, well let’s look at that… because you are right.. It’s
what the whole SLM process is for.

14. Ok, so the Straight Line Marketing Process is the process of
lining up the perceptions and vision for the business with
customers needs, desires, and lifestyle to then using that
information in creating the most efficient and effective business
communications (marketing) possible.
Brand
Development
Brand
Implementation

15. That’s brand marketing in a nut shell… or written out as a
process anyways.
Again, we have a whole web series on this available at
straightlinemarketingprocess.com
As marketing professionals, we try to influence the
prospective customer by letting them know more about the
business… letting them know more about the business gives
them the opportunity to make a connection with us.
We try to speak their language by using terms and images
that will influence those emotions. Do we want to make them
feel comfortable or on edge, sexy or reserved, confident or
afraid. How well we push those emotional buttons become
factors in their purchasing decisions. The brand is
instrumental in how we go about all of that.

16. Now like you said in the clip we watched, price is low hanging
fruit. If no other factors are there for the public to consider,
they have a tendency to make a decision based on price alone.
• Some businesses capitalize on this by using words like “free”
and “discount” but if your business is not targeted towards
the people that would be influenced by low pricing, then we
need to make sure we do our due diligence in showcasing
other factors to influence them.
• If your product or service will not win the business based on
price, we need to make sure we provide the necessary
elements for them to make a decision in your favor.
That’s where brand comes in.

17. Marketing
• Branding
• Awareness
Sales
• Taking it to the streets
• Conversions
• Customization of offerings
It also ties in with the marketing/sales relationship as well.

18. In addition to other things, your brand has to be
built on relevance.
• So you should consider the needs of Sales
• But also consider the competition
• And of course consider the consumer, like I
mentioned earlier
Relevance is that overlap between
what you want to say and what
people want to hear.
That’s the sweet spot.

19. Using Branding To
Build Success
There is a lot of responsibility
that falls on the brand. So it
needs to be developed correctly.
Based on a deep understanding
of the company and truth.
It has to be truth.
Because people will talk about it.

20. Using Branding To
Build Success
• 95% of customers share bad
experiences with others.
(Zendesk)
• 96% of unhappy customers
don’t complain, however 91%
of those will simply leave and
never come back (1Financial
Training services)
• Around 13% of dissatisfied
customers tell more than 20
people. (White House Office of
Consumer Affairs)

21. Again, it’s going to happen
anyway If you are
involved, you can
benefit from
generated
• Awareness
• Preference
• Loyalty

22. Let me give you an example – Harley Davidson
Their brand happened to them… unbridled perception by their
fans
They had a lot of negative perception as well, with the AMF
years…
So when they got the company back.
Ok, you are leaving out huge parts of the story that non-
motorcycle people aren’t going to understand. Guys, we did a
series on Harley Davidson – or the movie rather “Harley and the
Davidsons” – you can go back on our app and what it.
Yes, so if you don’t know the story, Harley and the Davidson
brothers lost the company, and their image (perception) was
damaged due to quality issues… then families bought it back,
years later. Damaged? But Harley Davidson is know as being a
monster brand… a cult brand.

23. Here’s how they did it:
The new company leadership leaned into the perception held by
their fans. Now with the company behind it, they spread that
perception, along with some professional elements and tools,
throughout the marketplace… and now everyone knows them as
a rough and tumble, edgy, outlaw brand.
And they are successful… they are that cult brand. People get
tattoos of their logo – that’s loyalty, that’s brand success.
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24. Welcome back everyone. We are talking about Brand today.
We’ve gone over quite a lot already, but let’s continue.
Let’s talk about how company’s map their brand foundation to
their operations, goals, and strategies. Zachary –
Alright, I’m going to do this by giving an example.. .Chick-fil-a

25. Mapping to goals and strategy
Facts and Goals
• Started in Atlanta
• Wants to become worldwide
• Wants to build a legacy
• Family and Industry
Brand Foundation
• Quality
• Products
• Premium materials
• Hand made
• Not discounted
• Employees
• Screening & Training
• Scholarships
• No Sundays
• Charity
• Locations
• Experience Focused
• Physically
• Behavior
• Family Oriented
Campaign
• Deliciously Different
• Eat Mor Chikin

26. This type of work is what
makes a brand work.
The ultimate goal of a
brand is to become
synonymous with a
product or service type…
this has happened a
number of times over the
year.
Using Marketing &
Sales To Build Success

27. So before we get too long in the tooth here, Zachary why don’t you give
us your straight shot summary:
First is the understanding of what brand is and what the relative terms
mean.
Brand is not tangible. The expressions of the brand are tangible. Your
brand is your perception in the mind of your audience which includes:
Who you are, What you stand for, Why you are in business, How you are
different, and Where you stand – your character and personality as a
business.
•Brand Development is the defining of a company’s professional
brand image and how it will be showcased in the marketplace
•Brand Implementation is using that image (that perception) to
better communicate with the business’s consumer audiences.
•Branding is the term that encompasses both of these

28. Remember what it is not:
• Your brand is not your logo
• Your brand is not your tagline
• Your brand is not what you do
Your brand is Who You Are
It’s important that you are
• Proactive
• True
• Informed
• Relevant
Don’t forget where you came from
or who you are; embrace where you
came from and who you are
But be aware
and beholden
to your
consumers

29. Why should you brand?
• It’s going to happen anyway
• Awareness
• Connection & Understanding
• Preference
• Loyalty
• 70% of buying experiences
are based on how the
customer feels (McKinsey)
• 55% of customers would
pay extra – (Defaqto
Research)
Make sure your brand is true to how you act and what you invest in
• Only promise what you deliver.
• If you promise superior customer service, make sure you
are investing in your employees.
• If you promise speed, make sure you invest in
accomplishing that.
• If you promise quality, start with the best and stay with
the best.

30. Branding is important… it holds a lot of
responsibility in a successful business’s operations.
But it’s also a lot of work and its gonna take
investment.
I hope you’ve enjoyed our investment in bringing
this episode to you. You can show us be
subscribing, hitting that link button, smashing the
bell.. And we’ll see you next time on Straight Shot
Marketing Podcast.