This guest post is by Matthew Kepnes of Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.
Let's begin with some word association:
- Disney World
- Nike
- Apple
- McDonald’s
- BP
- Goldman Sachs.
What did you think about when I mentioned these brands? What words came to mind? Thoughts? Feelings? Images?
Image copyright Andy Dean - Fotolia.com
Whatever it is that came to your mind is the brand image you associate with that company. When I think of those companies, I think of (respectively):
- family fun
- serious athletes
- youthful and innovative
- cheap
- careless
- heartless.
These words may be simple but they represent a whole array of feelings and emotions that the company names express to me. And it is those thoughts and emotions that shape my interactions with them, just as it is your thoughts and feelings that shape your interactions with them and how you relate to them. It is those feelings that either turn is into loyal customers or loyal "people who always shop elsewhere."
You are an idea
What are you? What about me? What do we represent?
This is not some existential question about life. These are questions about what your website or company is about and how people identify with it. Whether we know it or like it, our websites create an image in people's minds, and we need to be conscious of that image because if we aren't, our expectations and goals for our business won't match the real perception of our business.
When we think about "brands" we think of marketing, business techniques, and icky sales terms. We think of slick ad men and women who are putting together ad campaigns to pull the wool over our eyes.
But this article isn't an article on how to manipulate your brand image, it's about how to understand and use it. The idea of a brand is a...
