Don’t be scared off by all that brand talk..

A great brand can set your company apart, give you a competitive advantage and encourage loyalty from your customers and staff.

The most important thing to realise is that the brand is much more than a logo. Brand is:

- the complete look and feel of all your company's communications material

- how customers think and feel when they hear your company's name, or see your company's advertising

- what customers, staff and other stakeholders expect of your company…and say about it

- what you promise the market, how you position your product and services

- about the way you run and communicate about your company

- in the integrity and consistency in all of your company's dealings.

- about growing your business and getting leads in the door

Brand is something marketers go to University to study, but as a small business owner, you don't have time to head back to school. What you do need is a basic understanding of brand so you can start applying the principles to your business.

Virgin, QANTAS, Bonds, Volvo, IBM, Bunnings, Nudie. Very different companies, yet all sit well in the same sentence because of their strong brands.

Virgin and QANTAS are in the same industry, they provide people with flights. Yet how you think about each company will vary widely. Maybe you think:

QANTAS: Australian, safe, trustworthy, stable, more expensive

Virgin: Economical, People's Champion, fresh, maverick, Richard Branson

Both of these companies have spent millions of dollars getting you to think this way. But just because you don't have millions to spend, doesn't mean you can ignore developing your brand.

Your business and your brand are the same thing, so focusing on your brand helps focus the direction of the business.

Take a look at what focusing on brand meant to this one-time, one-man operation.

Andrew Campbell had been an island resort general manager, before he built up and sold two micro businesses. He then felt compelled to start his third small business in an area he loved - boating.

He researched the industry, seeing a huge gap in the Sydney market for a professional boat care and management operation. His instincts about the company he wanted to run were spot on. He wanted to differentiate his company, he wanted it to be the best and he ticked off practically every step in the process of creating a strong brand…even though at the time he was just a one man operation:

1. Company Name : Rather than running with the pack and calling the new company: Andrew's Detailing or Boat Management Australia, he named the new venture "My Boatie". The name gave customers an idea of the personal service they could expect.

2. Company Conviction : The company's tag line is: "Consider it done…well!" That line is fundamental to the way the company operates. Whether it be polishing a hull with the best product, teaching a new owner how to moor safely, or testing batteries prior to a client taking their vessel out, Andrew committed up front to high standards.

3. Company Colours : My Boatie differentiated itself from other operators by choosing not to go with marine blues and whites, but a vivid orange and blue.

4. Company Uniform : Boats are million dollar investments for their owners, but many of the workers Andrew saw on them looked scruffy. He invested in a professional uniform for his team, even though it stretched his budget.

5. Company Website: The website reflected the professional attitude of the company

6. Company Knowledge: Andrew openly sought advice from boat brokers, boat owners, skippers and suppliers while he honed the service.

7. Company Safety: Andrew focused on staff safety as another differentiator and invested in insurance so clients' boats were covered in case of any unforeseen event.

8. Company Employees: Andrew's expectations of himself and his staff were high, so in line with that he paid them above award wages

9. Company Conscious: My Boatie was one of the first company's to move to water saving devices, even though they added to the expense of operating the business

10. Company Vehicles: Andrew bought a second-hand van and fitted it out as a mobile office, storeroom and billboard. The sign-writing was a big outlay, but the professional look backed up the professionalism of the company and brought in more business.

11. Company Advertising: The company does limited traditional advertising, but when it does advertise, it maintains the same look and feel.

12. Miscellaneous : Everything from the way the phone is answered to the way the company deals with client feedback feeds back into the My Boatie brand. The company is sometimes slightly more expensive than some of its competitors, but offers a lot in return.

A few customers have said when they think of My Boatie that they just feel a sense of trust. The company now operates in Sydney and Melbourne with further expansion on the horizon. Macquarie Leisure Trust invested in the company earlier this year.

So, brand is not just advertising and the way you communicate about your business, but it's the way customers actually feel about it based on the way you are running it, and in comparison to your competitors.

Getting your brand right or reinvigorating a stale one can set your business on the path to success. Start focusing on it now, and if you are juggling too many hats, find a good partner to manage it for you!

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