If you own or manage a business the question must have crossed your mind. I have a logo, advertise my products, I promote their features and benefits, how much they cost and where to get them. What more do I need to do?
The answer is nothing if you have no competitors, but if you compete for a share of a market then you need a point of difference on which you build rapport with the customer. A brand use to be defined as a mark or symbol that represents goods or services, today it means an experience the company has with the customer during and after the point of purchase.
All business by default have a brand, it’s called a reputation and you can’t build a reputation on what you going to do, it’s on what you are doing- right now. A brand will allow you to create the reputation required and manage its relationship, from the managers’ desk to the shop floor and on to the customer experience. A brand is not the logo, it’s the business culture and type of customer relationship required to drive business and sales.
So who needs a brand? Well, I guess the guy who cares about how he treats his customers and what they say to others.