The secrets of successful branding

We're always hearing the word branding and about the importance of building a brand, but what actually is a brand and how important is it to a salon? A solid salon business is just about great hairdressing isn’t it? Or is it? BJ Cunningham is the man who launched Death cigarettes and turned it into a brand that remarkably, people wanted to buy. He has since established a hugely successful brand marketing agency and is a renowned expert in branding. According to BJ, most people think of a brand as an external image and a façade for business. For example, in hairdressing, most salon owners think their brand is about their logo and image representing the kind of hairdressing they deliver. However, to really understand what a brand is, BJ says you need to think of it as a promise, not a logo or a name.

Making A Statement

A salon brand is essentially a statement about the company’s philosophy, as BJ explains: "From the perspective of brand, every element of an organisation is one business. Hence, if any aspect of the business activity does not live up to and reinforce the brand promise, consumers will lose trust in that promise and seek a more reliable promise elsewhere."

• Start by defining your point - "Companies must then express that point with clarity, understand that their point is the true value, own that value position in the minds of the people – both consumers and employees – be true to that value position and stay consistent."
• Consistency is absolutely crucial - "This is because it must secure trust and loyalty, both from inside the organisation and outside among consumers. It must be with clarity because it is the glue that holds the business together. That promise or concept at the root of the company – that is the brand."
• Don't just give the impression of a brand, actually be that brand - "It means being who you really are, not pretending to be something else that you think people want you to be."

Companies Are Like People

BJ believes companies are like people and the smaller the gap between the way a company is seen, and the way it actually is, the more successful it will be:

• If a salon perceives itself in the same way as others perceive it and as it wants to be perceived, then it is strong.
• Once you are living the successful brand you can sell the product for significantly more than its generic product value – because people are no longer buying just the generic product; they are buying the promise and that is really valuable.

Whether embarking on a branding exercise will benefit your business can be answered only when you try it. Branding cannot be done in half measures and the whole point that you have to live your brand can be achieved only when you live, sleep and breath it. But in reality, would every successful company in the world invest in building its brand if it was not worth it? Of course not.