My tendency is common among business owners. To ensure consistently high quality, I scrutinize the smallest detail. The thinking process is common sense– prevent potential problems by personally supervising every expression of our brand. But the truth is that approach isn’t sustainable. It simply requires more effort than any one person can deliver. Holding onto control of a brand cannot be maintained without simultaneously limiting it. In order for a brand to truly thrive, it needs to grow unencumbered. But it needs guidance.
By taking the time to establish a solid foundation of common understanding, growth can occur naturally without the need for constant control. It’s precisely what a well-defined brand can accomplish. Branding isn’t just for marketing, it sets in place a consistent position that everyone in your company can learn. The brand becomes the guide, relieving any one individual from that burden. As a result, new freedom of expression is facilitated across your enterprise.
Setting a clear purpose is one of the fundamental aspects of defining a brand. It’s a powerful process. Often associated with spirituality and destiny, purpose is most impactful when aligned with a higher calling. Since people are motivated by meaning, your corporate purpose must appeal to the hearts and souls of all your stakeholders.
At FLUX, we begin any serious branding initiative by writing a Brand Platform. It’s a poetic piece with very specific language that sets the foundation for a common understanding of your brand’s purpose and principles. The Brand Platform makes it easy to communicate the unique characteristics of the brand to everyone inside and outside your company.
Great design takes brand intelligence and transforms it into visual expressions that are easy to see from afar. Brands help light the way, becoming beacons that are familiar guide-posts to allow people to navigate without instructions. When brands are crafted from purpose, they perform a great service to both consumers and team members alike.
With a brand as a beacon, tremendous growth can be accomplished through company-wide stewardship, not just the efforts of executive managers. This allows leadership to focus on higher-value growth activities by relaxing the need for control. That’s the way to step away from your brand without fear of diluting its equity.
Your brand is not your logo– it’s simply an image that represents it. By focusing the brand on your true purpose, it’s easier to understand the full potential the brand can deliver. And why the most successful companies have made branding a top priority.