What makes you purchase a new book? Do you judge first by its trendy cover? Do your friends’ recommendations exercise an influence on your choice? After reading the first 7 pages, you can easily decide whether the book was written to you or it should be immediately placed on your shelf being worthy of decoration. If you have an impression that the story has something to tell you to move forward, you want to see more. When you start to feel connected, the printed experience provides satisfaction for you.
You as an individual, as a leader or a small business owner also have a name/title, a special appearance/cover and a unique story to share. When you communicate who you are and what you do, you give rise to emotion. The more emotion you evoke, the easier your listeners know whether they want to see you or have your service again or not. You can make them feel connected or disconnected. With each of your actions you are creating a brand.
A brand is what people see, feel and think when they come into contact with you or with your name. You are first judged by your look and your reputation spreads by word of mouth. The word ’brand’ comes from the Ancient Norse - a Scandinavian language - word ’brandr’, which means ’to burn’. Originally a brand was a burning piece of wood. By the 1500’s ranch owners had their own unique mark that they burnt on their cattle in order to show ownership. These marks helped to identify the cattle if they were lost or stolen. The marks were simple, distinctive and easily identifiable. In the 1800’s marks were branded onto wood crates that carried wine and beer. The unique marks did not just identify the producer but they started to be associated with the quality of drinks and the reputation of the company.
Branding is a process of creating authentic value for people, which makes you stand out. This conscious, self-knowledge based process can be learnt. You can attract more clients or become a genuine leader by acquiring some basic branding tools.
What makes you purchase branding?