If potential customers aren't aware of your brand, you're not going to make much money, even if you're selling the most wonderful product in the world. You can fix this problem, however, by working on the four Cs of brand awareness: clarity, creativity, consistency, and cohesiveness.
Okay, I admit it, the four Cs for creating brand awareness is my own shortcut to understanding the steps you need to take. But you should have an easy time remembering it if you've ever considered shopping for a diamond. Behind each C is a world of importance that affects one's impression of a diamond – or in this case, a brand. So what impression do you want to make on your potential customers?
Obviously, you want to make a good impression, but believe it or not, “a good impression” is not quite specific enough. Think about your friends and their very different personalities. They may all be good, reliable friends, but one likes art museums, another loves screwball comedies, and a third will talk your ear off about the latest book he's read. Companies have personalities, too. There may be some constraints due to the need to present a professional appearance, but there's a lot of room for differences. Consider Google and IBM. They're both big companies, but they present very different faces to the world.
This is where our first C, Clarity, comes in. You could also call it “comprehension.” What is your company's special vision? What do you want customers to think of when they see your logo? For that matter, who ARE your customers? What are they like? What do they do? How do they use your product? What image will appeal to them? What do they need from you? What do you do that makes you different from, and better than, your competitors?
If it helps, think of your company as a person, and consider what kind of person it would be. If you're the company's founder, this might be an easy exercise. Once you have that image in your head, you need to come up with a short mission statement and tag line. Don't be afraid to spend a fair bit of time doing your research at this stage; remember, you're striving for a clear vision, and it's going to guide everything else you do from this point forward.
As an example, Google's mission statement is “Organizing all of the world's information” and its tag line is “Don't be evil.” Their vision is somewhat implicit in these two statements. They imply a willingness to tackle seemingly impossible tasks and a work environment in which people can grow.
Now it's time to move on to the second C, Creativity. When you've decided what image you want for your company, it's time to spread this image to everything. What kind of logo conveys your brand's attitude? Again, comparing Google with IBM is instructive. Be careful, because you're going to put this attitude everywhere. It affects all decisions, big and small: the colors and fonts you use on your website, the layout of your company's brochures and catalogs, the design and setup of your company's booths at trade shows, and so much more. As just one example, it affects the “voice” you use on your website. Some of that might be dictated by your business; I wouldn't expect a lawyer to use the same tone on his website as a tie-dye artist. But in any case, you're creating a brand in the image you decided you wanted when you did your research with the first C.
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