Especially in today’s small business culture, I hear the terms “brand” and “branding” thrown around a lot. But have we all really sat down and thought about what they mean exactly? More than likely, we haven’t. So let’s take a minute to nail down a solid definition for these terms that we sling around like crazy and that have such meaning and practical application for our businesses.

Contrary to popular belief, your brand is not your logo or your product. Your brand is the way your audience (stakeholders, clients, etc.) perceive you, your company and your products. In short, it’s the collection of perceptions held by internal and external parties, as well as the overall client experience your company brings to the table. Your brand is what people envision when they think of your product or service. In order to ensure customers and stakeholders are perceiving your brand appropriately, it’s so important to be consistent throughout your brand voice and image.

That’s where branding comes into play. Strong branding enables you to not only control the way your brand is perceived by others, but it also lays the foundation for solid customer relationships and experiences. Branding consists of the series of practices that make up the experience that is your brand. It’s everything from the logo you put on your business cards to the way to interact with your customers. It’s the process that enables people to perceive your business the way you intend for them to. Be it through your print collateral or a simple Instagram post, staying consistent and true to the core of your brand is crucial.

So what are some things to consider when examining your branding? Voice, image and perception. Take a moment to think about the way you want to address customers. Do you want that voice to be first person, third person, warm and friendly or professional and no-nonsense? Get specific and stick to it. Incorporating that same voice from your marketing campaigns to your face-to-face client interactions ensure a consistency clients can depend upon. It also ensures you’re attracting folks that closely line up with your dream client. Chances are your warm and bubbly brand voice won’t attract someone who has a fancy for the Macabre.

Image is probably what most people think of when they think about branding. Your brand image is made up of your logo, print and web collateral. It spans from your social media presence to your website design. It’s often a tangible facet customers can interact with, so it’s easy to see why so much of our time and resources as business owners go towards putting our best foot forward. Strong branding features a happy marriage of voice, image and perception, and making sure your brand’s image stays true to it’s voice is so important. If your brand voice is warm, bubbly and ultra feminine, print collateral that incorporates bold fonts and dark hues isn’t the best way to go. Again, your image helps you attract your dream client and those bold, dark business cards may just draw in the wrong kind of person.

Although you can strategize and design until you’re blue in the face, all the clearest brand collateral and brand voice in the world can’t make a client perceive your company the way you intended. As business owners, we should try our best to give the consumer all the information they need to make an educated decision for themselves. And if we are to properly and effectively share that information with them, we need to be cohesive in our message. Dig deep, I mean, really dig deep here and consider how you want customers to perceive your business. Do you want them to get the feeling of working with an upscale, luxe boutique or a down-to-earth, Mom & Pop joint? Think about the goals, values and mission you strive to share with your clients. That is how you should strive to be perceived by them. Those core pillars of your business should be the reputation you are working toward. Use all the tools in your brand arsenal – your brand voice and image – to share that perception with your customer base. See how this all comes full circle in the end, y’all?

All of these pieces won’t come together overnight. They take introspection and lots of hard work. But once you put them into place, you will begin to reap the benefits of a healthy and well-branded business. Keep in mind that consistency is key here. As a brand, you are making a promise to your customers that they can expect a certain experience from you every single time they come to you. That promise must be reinforced whenever they come into contact with your brand, be it through Twitter, your blog or your business card. Since building a strong brand takes such dedication, I believe it’s vital to have a clear grasp of your brand’s core before moving forward. You can read all the DIY branding guides or business plans you want, but until you do the hard work it takes to dig deep into yourself and give a name to the values and goals of your brand, you’ll be selling yourself short.

I hope this brief brand vs. branding chat was helpful! If you still don’t know where to start when it comes to getting down to the nitty gritty of your brand, feel free to reach out to me through the comments, my contact page or directly at bonnie(at)bisforbonniedesign.com. I offer brand consults for small business owners and anyone with a big dream and would love to chat with you.

If you’re interested in taking your brand identity to the next level, I offer full branding services and am accepting clients for August and September 2014.