The process of branding your business can be quite daunting as you need to look at various issues. Are you going to be an expensive brand for your industry, or just try to keep pace with the average guy? In almost every industry - be it dental, law, medicine, automotive, or grocery store, there are the high priced leaders and we all generally know what to expect. And why is that? It is because these leaders have 'branded' themselves in this fashion. They have taken the time and effort to let their customers and clients know what to expect before that client even walks in the door.

Let's go to the example of Mercedes Benz - you all know that tri star symbol seen at every dealership. Mercedes has made it their hallmark to appear to be the best of the best of the best.....you get the picture. And because they promote high quality, long lasting automobiles, they are able to charge a premium for it. Unlike Hyundai, a low price leader, Mercedes can sell fewer vehicles, but at a higher cost, and therefore do quite well for themselves.

As a dentist, I made every effort to become the best I could in the industry by taking as many advanced training courses as I could possibly find. I became what is called a 'Master Dentist' at the prestigious Institute for Advanced Dental Studies out in Las Vegas (we all joked a lot about the location!) and used that on my website and business cards to brand myself as an expert in cosmetic dentistry and crown work. It really made my office the 'Go To' place for such procedures. To this day, 5 years after retiring, the practice is still seen as a premier office for such procedures as the doctor who took over continued with the training and did the same as I did.

Even a grocery store can brand itself - look at Wegman's for example. If any of you are not familiar with this store, I can tell you that it is a high end place, with in store bakery, coffee shop, restaurant area, buffet, salad bar, and they even serve freshly cooked Maine lobsters! Customers expect their prices to be slightly higher for most items because the quality is so high. The other end of the line is the Acme store located in some small towns across the country. This place has little to no advertising and relies on local customers to keep them busy. They have no frills and would never consider selling caviar or lobster. They have branded themselves as the low price, no-nonsense store.

When it comes to branding your business there are lots of issues to consider but the level of quality you choose must be adhered to at all times. It would not be worthwhile to sell caviar when you are supposed to be the low price leader in the business. Your customers would become confused and end up wandering elsewhere for their groceries. If you are the high priced automobile leader, you would not want to sell a car that lands in the shop every month - by the way, I actually DO have one of those cars. There is nothing more frustrating than taking your car to the dealer one day and when it is supposedly 'fixed' you notice the "check engine" light is on again as you drive it out of the dealer's parking lot. This has actually happened to me a number of times with this car. Oh well, some days are better than others.

So in your branding endeavors, keep it simple and straight forward. Send the same message day in and day out so that your customers can count on you being there for them. Decide what you are offering the customer and never vary from that decision. This alone will bring customers to your door with much less effort. And low effort advertising is a great thing in any business.

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