When it comes to successful branding for a company, the first thing that comes to mind might be a company’s logo. While this is a part of a company’s brand, it is really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the complete branding picture. A brand is the sum of the tangible and intangible qualities which people associate with a company, product or service. Good branding can stand the test of time even as logos or products change over the course of a company’s life.

Her are three things every brand needs to be successful.

1. Consistency

Companies need to be consistent with their brand messaging from the start. Determine your company’s strengths and weaknesses so that you can put your best foot forward. Your brand should highlight your mission statement, products/services and corporate promise. By being consisten, your brand messaging will be able to stand the test of time even when there are logo changes, new products, or even management and ownership changes within the company. Branding expert Natalie McCatty says, “If there’s one thing that’s really key to developing and maintaining a strong brand, it’s this: consistency. Businesses that are constantly revising their visual identity and jumping from one look to the next are going to find it hard to establish a strong brand that consumers recognize.” She is absolutely correct; once you’ve established your brand’s voice, stick with it – recognition and results will follow.

2. Guidelines

A good brand should always have guidelines in place to help dictate how it is represented. This can mean everything from having a set of color palettes for use in logos, print pieces and digital content, to using a standard font for all communications, to different variables for all the range of places your brand may show up. By maintaining a set of guidelines, the consistency of your brand will not be diluted across numerous uses, and your many team members will all be able remain within the boundaries of the company’s image for both external and internal communications, creating  sense of unity.

3. Customer Feedback

The only way to really understand how your brand is perceived and how effective it is conveying the feelings and messages desired is to ask your customers what thoughts and emotions come to mind when they see, hear or think about your brand. Measuring these responses and crunching the data to determine actionable insights is critical to your brand’s success. You can even A/B test different qualities of your brand, even those that feel like intangible qualities such as attitude or personality. Companies often get caught up with their own viewpoints of their company’s branding and messaging which makes them forget to ask the most important group of people: their customers. Creating a short survey is simple, and can be inserted into your newsletter or social media posts. The questions do not necessarily have to be directly correlated to your brand, they just need to find out how your company is perceived. Getting feedback from your existing customers as well prospects will go a long way in helping you shape your brand to the needs of your audience.

Many entrepreneurs find it hard to brand their company just right. To help you get started, check out our free ebook, the 10 Step Guide To Boost Your Branding. Every brand can use a bit of a lift!