Clearing up confusion about the word "brand"

In marketing circles, I’m not sure there is a word or phrase more misunderstood or misused than the word “brand.”  So, in the next 90 seconds or so, let’s define what brand is and what it is not. 

Brand is what a company does and how it sets itself apart from its competitors.

My favorite example is Southwest Airlines.  When other airlines began charging passengers for luggage a few years ago, Southwest launched an ad campaign.  The campaign’s message:  We don’t charge you for bags.  That message fit perfectly with the brand Southwest smartly established and very effectively maintains:  We are your low-cost, passenger-friendly airline. 

    

The Southwest Airlines’ brand is not their multi-colored 737s.  It is not their logo.  In fact, at this very moment, I couldn’t even tell you what the Southwest logo is.  Okay, I just checked it.  Now, I remember.  But it’s not important that I necessarily remember its logo.  What is important to Southwest is that I remember its brand—it is my low-cost, passenger-friendly airline. 

The very common mistake is to think a company’s logo or its “mark” is the brand.  The golden arches are not the McDonald’s brand.  The McDonald’s brand is serving food quickly, consistently and inexpensively.  The BMW roundel is not its brand.  The BMW brand is the luxury automobile it builds and the things it does to make that automobile different. 

I talked to someone a few months ago who said her company wanted to freshen up its brand.  It wanted a new logo to do that.  A new logo can sharpen a company’s look or its image.  And while there are some advantages to creating a new logo, that won’t make the brand any better.  Or any fresher. 

If you want to improve your company’s brand, start by having heart-to-heart conversations with customers.  Here are three great questions to get that ball rolling: What are we doing now that you like?  What are we doing that you don’t like?  What would you like us to do that we are not doing now?  Listen to their feedback.  Make changes accordingly.  Add that new service.  Or improve delivery times. Or change a product line.

Do those things and you just may improve your company’s brand.