It’s always disconcerting to me when I hear a company say, “We can’t spend time on branding. We need to focus on demand generation.” Or, “We’ll worry about branding later. Right now we need to concentrate on growth marketing.”

I get it. You need to sell something. And you need to do it in a way that builds on itself, generating repeat customers/clients. It’s not a new idea. It’s just gotten new language slapped on it.

Don’t get me wrong. All that is incredibly important. You have to be financially viable as a brand. The thing is, you can’t set branding aside. Because, quite frankly, everything your brand does is, well, branding.

The way you conduct your demand generation. The strategies that you layout for your growth marketing efforts. All of these things have a big impact on how your brand is perceived. And how your brand is perceived is branding.

I particularly like this definition:

Branding is your whole company seen through the eyes of your customer.

That’s not only the physical things like the logo or signage. It’s also the way you behave. 

Branding is happening whether you want to focus on it or not. This means you probably ought to pay attention to it because it could end up affecting everything else you’re trying to do. Here are a few things to keep in mind.

Every interaction defines your brand

From the moment a potential customer encounters your brand, whether through a website visit or a phone call, they start forming opinions about your business. These interactions – ranging from customer service experiences to product quality – contribute to your brand's reputation. Positive interactions build trust and loyalty, while negative ones can damage your brand irreparably.

Your people are crucial

Your team members are your brand ambassadors, and their actions and attitudes directly impact your brand's perception. When they embody your brand's values and deliver consistent, exceptional service, they reinforce your brand's identity. In contrast, a disconnect between your brand's promises and employee behavior can lead to confusion and mistrust among those you hope to serve. 

People expect you to be a good citizen

Today's consumers expect more from the brands they support. Demonstrating social responsibility and ethical business practices isn't just a choice – it's an integral part of your brand. How your brand handles things like environmental sustainability issues in the business, ethical sourcing, and community involvement sends a powerful message to customers about what your brand is all about. 

At a minimum, you need to do this

Customer and prospect perception has a big impact on how your brand is characterized. Does that mean you are at the mercy of them? No. You have a say. But you need to work in collaboration with customers and prospects.

That starts with you having a solid understanding of who you are, the real value you bring to the world, and what you stand for. And when I say ‘solid understanding’, I mean you have worked through it. You’ve written it down. You’ve shared it with everyone in the company. In fact, they begin to look to it for clarity and guidance in their everyday work.

When I work with companies to establish the foundation of a brand, I like for us to create a brand manifesto together. It puts all of these things into writing to help you set out who the brand is and what it believes. Moreover, it uses emotional language (after all, we’re talking about what we believe here). A manifesto has the power to challenge and energize everyone – both inside and outside of the company. 

Take the time to establish what your brand is about, understanding how those you hope to serve perceive you. Involve the whole organization (it will make what you do more authentic and energizing). And consider crafting a manifesto to capture what it is that makes you worth caring about. Do that and it will help boost all your demand generation and growth marketing efforts. Better yet, you’ll find that people will start to do something incredibly valuable with your brand. They will start caring about it.