Let’s get back to basics and face the fact that some people in the small business environment still don’t have a proper handle on what branding actually is. This is that day in class where we review stuff from the beginning of the year, but try not to tune out here. It’ll make the other student’s look stupid…

Branding is not just about getting your audience to choose you over the competition. Rather, it is putting it into the heads of the public that you are the best solution to their need. Think about Starbucks…love them or hate them, their name is not just synonymous with coffee—their logo is just about the only one that comes to many people’s minds when they think about coffee.

So what can your brand do to gain that sort of power? It really all boils down to sticking to the three most basics of branding.

Clearly Deliver Your Message: Don’t be vague or overly poetic. Let people know who you are and what you do without complicating things.

Connect With Your Audience: If you can connect with your audience on an emotional level, you’re golden. What is it about you that your audience will relate to? Find that factor and enhance it to fit into your band and drive it forward.

Create Customer Loyalty: Delivering beyond expectations and enhancing the customers experience will ensure that your new customer becomes a loyal customer. And the more loyal customers you have, the stronger your brand becomes. Remember: when it comes to pleasing customers, there is no such thing as going “Over the Top.”

While there are certainly more detailed in successfully building your brand these three are the most fundamental. If you aren’t sure how to go about achieving these three factors, take a step back and re-evaluate what you want your brand to be about.

What are some of the more important factor you’ve stuck closely to in shaping your brand?