BRANDIN EU Branding Handbook for SMEs | Page 18

III. STEP BY STEP INTO THE BRANDING PROCESS III.1. PREPARATION FOR THE BRANDING PROCESS The main areas of the brand building process: - MARKET RESEARCH - POSITIONING - DEVELOPMENT - INTEGRATED COMMUNICATION Brand building never stops. The brand should be visible and reflected in everything that customers see (and don’t see): Online and offline media. Building a strong brand is about having a clear understanding of what the brand stands for, and then making sure everyone else understands it too. Building brand starts with answering some questions about product or business: 1. Who are my customers? 2. What customers do I want to have? 3. Who are my competitors? 4. What is my competitors’ brand position? 5. What problem does my company solve? Does anybody care? 6. What is my value proposition? Is it distinctive? Is it relevant to my customers? 7. When people think about my company or product, what are the feelings and associations I want them to have? Are they unique? Can we “own” them? 8. What are the functional benefits that we deliver to our customers? 9. What are the emotional benefits that only we deliver to our customers? 10. What kind of personality will my brand have? www.madcatmarketing.co.uk 16 17