“Asking the right questions takes as much skill as giving the right answers.” Robert Half
Albert Einstein famously said, “If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask.” He knew that before you can find the right answer, you first need to find the right question. So, in reverse order, let’s read some answers about branding that prompt us to ask the right questions.
“A brand is no longer what we tell the consumer it is — it is what consumers tell each other it is.” – Scott Cook, co-founder and chairman of Intuit
• What are you doing or communicating (visually and verbally) that has people talking about you?
“Define what your brand stands for, its core values and tone of voice, and then communicate consistently in those terms.” – Simon Mainwaring, author and social media specialist
• What does your brand stand for? What’s your mission? What’s important to you?
• What are your core values? How do you communicate them?
• What is your tone of voice? How do you present yourself verbally and visually?
• Are you communicating your brand consistently?
“You have to stay true to your heritage; that's what your brand is about.” – Alice Temperley, British fashion designer
• Is your brand true to your organization’s traditions, history and mission?
“A brand is a living entity – and it is enriched or undermined cumulatively over time, the product of a thousand small gestures.” – Michael Eisner, entertainment executive
• Do you see your brand as a living, growing entity?
• How focused are you on making tiny gestures that will enrich your brand?
“Branding is making an emotional connection.” – Alina Wheeler, author and branding consultant
• Does your brand make an emotional connection with the public?
“Products are made in a factory, but brands are created in the mind.” – Walter Landor, brand designer and founder of Landor Associates
• What does your brand create in the viewer’s mind?
“Your brand is the single most important investment you can make in your business.” – Steve Forbes, editor in chief of Forbes Magazine
• How much do you invest in your business’s greatest investment?
“A great brand is a story that is never completely told.” – Scott Bedbury, branding consultant and CEO of Brandstream
• What story is your brand telling? Does it leave people wanting more?
“Your brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room.” – Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon
• What are people saying about you when you’re not around to hear? More importantly, are they even talking about you?