The Denver Business Journal is running an interesting article presenting five essential steps to take for branding a professional services firm.

The key point of the article is however expressed in the beginning:

To most of us, the term “brand” conjures up an identifying symbol, a catchy phrase, or a trademark that a company uses to identify and advertise its product. However, the true purpose of a brand goes well beyond sending a series of impressions into a target market to create a response. A brand makes a promise; it pledges quality to the user. Brand success is critical in the professional services firm where the people are the product and the brand must be lived to ensure that the promise is fulfilled.

Than, the five proposed steps, are no less interesting:
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“Brand loyalty will diminish as the defining metric of success. Marketing strategies will become more varied. Some brands will be so strong that they will exist independently of specific products and services. Other brands will make a splash and then disappear. And a new kind of ‘generic’ brand will emerge: not bland, low-priced generics but anonymous, unmarked — yet highly stylized — products that are meant to take on the identity of the person who buys them. People will brand their own clothes, their own shoes, and so on.”

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Interesting article by Clyde Fessler, former vice president, business development, Harley-Davidson Motor Company.

In today’s international business world, it is becoming more difficult to compete successfully and, ultimately, provide a return to investors.

The proliferation of competitors, short term objectives, and opportunities to place investment dollars elsewhere also make it difficult to invest in building brands

Building a brand takes commitment, focus, and three to five years of complimentary programmes. It is not just an advertising programme. It is a company-wide effort that unifies everyone’s energies, toward the same common objective.

It takes dedication and a focus of limited resources to execute the various strategies in the different functions of the company. Each department had to take its turn, develop its plans and execute a defined strategy.

But first, there are three strategic questions to ask yourself when building a brand:

Who are we?

Is your company a house of several brands, or is your company a branded house with sub-brands? What does your company do? Provide a service, promote a cause, build a product, or create a lifestyle? Whatever it is, your statement of who you are should differentiate yourself from your competitors. Continue reading →