Market Your Way to Growth: 8 Ways to Win

3 Grow by Developing a Powerful Brand

A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You can earn reputation by trying to do hard things well.

—Jeff Bezos, Amazon

Every company is a brand, even if it doesn't do any outright branding activity. The sheer fact that the company exists and engages in buying and selling creates an image in the minds of everyone who hears about or does business with the company. These people are likely able to mention one or more things about the company. If there is a lot of image convergence, we could say that the company carries a well-defined brand image. The only question is whether the company is satisfied with its brand image—or would like to manage it better. A company undertakes conscious branding when it wants to establish a certain reputation—one that has power and consistency in the marketplace.

This doesn't mean that the company is trying to project the same image to every group. McDonald's, for example, aims a slightly different message to mothers, teenagers, and senior citizens as to why they might come eat at their restaurants. If aircraft maker Boeing is trying to win a contract from United Airlines, it will emphasize different qualities when it talks to the company's engineers, purchasing people, chief financial officer, and CEO—since each United participant will consider different matters during the purchase process. The company needs its brand messages to be compatible and consistent with the overall understanding of Boeing. ...