Creating a Powerful Brand Name

"Pull the string, and it will follow wherever you wish. Push it, and it will go nowhere at all."

-- Dwight D Eisenhower

From top business executives, to people striving everyday in their communities. From traditional corporations, to the internet, "branding" has become one of the most significant marketing practices to date. We have all become accustomed to the fact that our favorite brand will consistently offer a certain level of quality.

We are so bombarded by product brands that we are barely conscious of them much of the time, but most of us have at least some level of brand awareness. We can repeat their ad slogans. Dude, you're gettin' a Dell! or Energizer, it just keeps going and going and going... But most important for the companies that make brand-name products, is the fact that we look for them when we shop.

The business world has long recognized the value of creating a recognizable and clearly defined "brand". When you are looking for clothes, don't you seek out brand names like Nike, Donna Karan or Gucci? At the grocery store, do you purchase generic lemon cake or Betty Crocker? Odds are that you've developed a preference for one brand or another in almost every type of consumer good you purchase.

The companies behind all of those brand-name products and the millions of other goods and services being pitched to you everyday, believe that a strong brand creates a bond with consumers by giving them something of value and by consistently delivering on their promise of doing it. Companies with powerful brands have learned that we will keep coming back to their products and services, and sometimes pay a premium price for them, if they consistently deliver on their "promise" of giving us what we want or need.

Think for a moment about the people you value most in life. Aren't they people who deliver something you value? They have skills, knowledge, or personal characteristics that add to the quality of your life. Their "brands" or reputations carry a promise.