What is the impression people get when they come in contact with you? This question has been on my mind for quite a while now. The topic for this lecture was ”Enhancing your brand”. I had a good sense of awareness until the opportunity presented itself. The question kept ringing in my head; I couldn’t let it go. More questions kept coming: How do you enhance your potential value to be seen or hired? How do you make people feel? I searched for the answers for a while, holding my pen and expecting to start writing as the answers flowed, but nothing came. I thought I knew. The faculty (the lecturer) started the class with a few more questions.
What is branding? A brand is a company’s unique identity that is easily distinguishable from other companies. At least, I thought this would be the most suitable answer until I had a paradigm shift. The faculty started his lecture by stating that ”branding is the sum of all the perceptions and emotions about a product or service in a customer’s mind. However, it is essential to note that it is not the logo, product, service or identity that is the brand”. Nothing the brand stands for. Branding itself is a promise of value, and the promise of value would be the tool for generating income. This new knowledge differed from the existing knowledge of branding I had known all this while. The logo of a company, its product and service was the brand. However, noting that a brand is a promise of value and value, the tool for generating income made more sense to me.
Then, the slogan ”Everywhere you go” by MTN became clearer. MTN has promised value here, their network coverage anywhere we go. So, MTN’s logo would be seen henceforth as a promise of network availability everywhere it’s needed, interesting! My lecture continued. Organisations don’t own the brand. People who pay for the brand, the customers, are the owners of the brand. Without a customer’s perception and emotions, only the product or service is left.
Consequently, people buy from those they know, like and trust. The products and services of trusted brands are mostly patronised. Trust is essential in brand building. It is the foundation for building a powerful brand. Here, the question is, how do people perceive your brand? Is it perceived as one with integrity and trust? Can your brand be vouched for? Can the brand be referred to or be a reference point? What are the emotions and perceptions of people who would want to give their hard-earned money for the exchange of promises the brand speaks about? Can it really be trusted? What is trust?
Trust is a psychological state of accepting vulnerability based on positive expectations or intentions for another person’s behaviour. When people trust your brand, they risk exposing themselves to being vulnerable to the brand. The lecturer concluded this segment by introducing the four elements of trust. They are Integrity, Intent, Capability and results. These can also be referred to as character and competence. Building a successful brand requires character and trust. The lessons on branding were insightful, but I’ll share my thoughts in the next blog.
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