By © Carole Nicolaides

The idea of branding is valuable and imperative for business owners and leaders in organizations.  But what exactly is a brand and why is it so important for you as a business owner or professional?

A brand is the essence of who you are; it describes you and what you do in life.  By creating a successful brand you make it easy for people to find you.  You position yourself in their minds and in return you receive their focused attention and clarity.  In a way you are able to attract the customers that you want to attract.

Perception is reality.  The first rule of perception is "try to control what other people think about you and what you can do for them" otherwise you may harm your own brand.  It is important that people are able to describe you and your small business accurately.  They need to know exactly what you are able to offer them.

Your brand becomes your trademark; it builds trust and ties emotional connections.  Some successful big and small companies that have done an excellent job in creating recognizable brands are; McDonalds, Colgate and Disney just to name a few.  As soon as you say their names you also identify what offer.  Usually, as you mention these companies' special characteristics, values and emotions come into your mind.

Take the Disney example, what emotions and pictures come to your mind as you say Disney?  Fun, excellent customer service, family, clean, innovative.  All these attributes symbolize Disney, who they are and what they offer.  Most importantly, by doing this branding they are able to attract the customers that need this kind of service and believe in these values.

By clearly defining your brand, you are describing your uniqueness and you are projecting your offerings to the world.  You also lose the risk of rejection because customers who know what you stand for make quicker purchasing decisions.

Here are questions (a template) that you can ask to help you in creating your personal or professional brand.

What is your role, title name of your business?  What is your personal style?  What do you like, dislike in your personal and professional life?  Are you a warm, open and easygoing person, or are you more of an introvert type?  All these qualities describe who you are.  Write down your answers.  This will help you composing your unique style.

As people talk about you what do they say?  What helps them to distinguish your brand from other brands?  What do you have that evokes clarity and makes your clients feel good about selecting your services?

What do you do that is different from your competitors?  What are your natural gifts?  What are your learned skills, education, acquired knowledge through your career and your life?  What is your personal and business experience?  What fascinating things have you explored with your life?

What do you value?  Do you know whom you serve?  Do you serve a niche market?

If you are not sure about your niche market, look into common characteristics of your clients.  What is that most of your clients want?  What are their secret fears?  What motivates them?  The key here is to be able to describe the people who need your talents and knowledge.  Get very personal and demographic.

Once you've gathered all the information, it's time to develop your branding message.  Keep these things in mind as you go through the process: keep your message to one sentence, get straight to the point and be consistent in your branding and other marketing efforts.

The world will soon identify you with a few simple words just as they have done with major corporations for years.

Carole is President of Intentional Success Coaching offering Personal Success Coaching, Marketing, Business Planning & Internet Success Consulting.  Visit her today for your FREE coaching session and newsletter.  http://www.intentionalsuccess.com