BRANDING: IT�S NOT WHAT YOU SAY, IT�S WHO YOU ARE

Do you remember those teenage years when you had to decide so much about who you really were as a person? Do I dress and act like everyone else, or do I go my own way and create my own image? I don't know about you, but that was a tough decision as a young man. Most of us settled on something that was somewhere in the middle of those two ideas. We wanted to be like the people around us, but we also wanted to be our own person. Expert branding follows much the same idea. As we decide what our business is going to be about, we want to brand in a way that resonates with the average person out there. But, we also want to differentiate (be different or set apart in a positive way). Remember those people in high school who wanted to be different, but it was in a negative way. These people projected an image that was about selfish indulgence, apathy, and a general lack of regard for anyone or anything. This does not work in the business world. Be sure that when you set yourself apart, it is in a positive way. Stand up for something useful, positive and motivating . Never settle for anything but the best. It is often thought that branding is about just creating an image or front for the world that will sell products. And that it will have no bearing on actual fact. That is far from the truth. Great branding develops out of who you are as a business owner and what your company really represents. Are you honest with all of your customers? Are you giving back to the community? Do you really value and treat each and everyone one of your customers as though they were the most important person in the world? I hope the answer is yes to each of those questions. And if it is yes, then make that a part of your branding. If you are involved in the community or give to worthy charities, then make that a part of your sales and promotional materials. In other words, make sure that what you are branding and selling is worthy to be placed on the market place of ideas. It's not just about chic, and glitz, and glamour. Good branding is about substance, integrity, and a message that can make a difference in a world that greatly needs it. So in conclusion, don't be so concerned about what message you need to project to your potential customers. But, be much more concerned about who you are and who you want to be as a company. When those ideas have been thought through and implemented good branding will follow like day follows night. The American Psychologist Erich Fromm said it best when he said, "Integrity simply means not violating one's own identity."

By Larry Nardi - President/CEO of King's Embroidery and Promotional Products. Larry has been in the promotional products industry for 12 years and has been a professional educator and administrator for 28 years.