Usually the prevalent message found in college classrooms discussing marketing is that you “Must create a brand.” I am here to tell you that while this is true to some degree, it should not be the primary focus but rather the by-product.Why? Well, let’s look at the brands that we have all been exposed to on a regular basis. What comes to mind?Coca-Cola? Polar Bears, RefreshingBudweiser? Frogs and Clydesdale HorsesChevrolet? Like a Rock (Bob Seger song) McDonalds? Quick, simple, fast, Ronald McDonald, great way to keep the kids entertained and fedSo, after giving you some great examples of how companies are branding themselves, why do I still say that branding should be a by-product not a focus?Well, let me ask you this question. How much do you think you would recognize these brands if they had not spent millions of dollars on ad campaigns? Would you be able to chime in at precisely the right moment for the “Beef, it’s what’s for dinner song?” (You know you did it) if it hadn’t been burned into your mind by 100s of 1,000s of repetitions? What about the Budweiser frogs? Would you be able to recite the entire commercial if you hadn’t seen it so many times? Of course not, and neither could your customers. So unless you have a multi-million dollar marketing/advertising department in your company, you are going to need to find another way to brand yourself.What does that mean for you? Well, not to take away from the graphic designers out there, but the first thing to remember is that while a logo is important, a logo is not the most important part of a brand. Do you remember the logo for your dentist or local florist? What about the local coffee shop? If you do, good for you, you are attentive. But if you don’t, that’s okay. Neither do 98.7% of their other customers. Are you less likely to shop at any of these places because you can’t remember what their logo looks like? Probably not.But you are less likely to shop at these places if you have received poor service, poor product, etc. So, what does that mean in regards to branding? Your WHOLE business is your brand. From the sign out front to the empty toilet paper holder in the ladies bathroom, it all matters to your customers. If the first thing that comes to mind when your customers think of you is, “They have great food, but the bathroom always has this weird smell…” then your brand is tainted. If your customers love your products, but your billing process is a pain, your brand is tainted.I like to think of branding as a balancing act between the images such as the logo, the flyers, the signs, etc and between the actual experience. You need to have the logos and the signs so that people will take you seriously, but all the expensive logos and signs in the world won’t save you if your receptionist has a bad attitude that turns your customers away.So how do you create a brand that consists of your whole business? One thing that I suggest is that you are constantly looking at ways to improve the systems in your business. (And if you are getting a blank and confused look on your face when I mention systems, I would start by reading Michael Gerber’s book “The E-Myth.”) I like to think of business as being about growth and continual change. To me that means that what worked last month may not work today, so we have to constantly be checking and testing things to make sure that they are still applicable to our business today.So if you notice that at about 3:35pm each day you are getting complaints that the toilet paper holder in the ladies bathroom is empty, maybe you should put a system in place that tells your employees to check the ladies bathroom at 3:25 pm every day and make sure that there are plenty of toilet paper and paper towels. But don’t just change it and leave it. Continue to monitor, because you might notice that the time may change during the winter months and you have to tweak your system again.If you notice that when a potential customer calls everything goes great until they are handed off to a certain person, tweak the system. Maybe listen in to what that person is saying and how they are saying it. If need be, give them a script. If they are not on board with the process, maybe you should look at finding someone who will be, because you cannot afford to have your employees ruining your brand for you. It is all you have.Think back to your childhood and the little hardware store down on the corner. Do you think the owner knew a thing about creating a brand? Probably not. What he did know about was his customers and he knew how to provide good service. He knew that the farmer down the road was about to repair some fences, so when the needed material came in he didn’t just wait for the farmer to saunter in again. He gave him a call and then had it delivered right to his doorstep. He knew the exact types of hinges in your Aunt Millie’s house and how to get replacement ones, because he sold her father the originals years ago. And best of all, he knew your favorite kind of candy and always knew when you needed a pick me up.Am I trying to say that you need to open up a little country hardware store? No. Am I saying that branding is bad? No. What I am saying is that a logo or nice stationary are not going to save you if you have poor customer service or a poor product. I am saying that it is a whole package.You need to take those basics of customer service from the little country hardware store owner and realize that the whole reason a business is known for good service is not because they said so in some ad. It is because their customers said it about them time after time after time. The same can be said for good food, cleanliness, good quality, etc. Remember, if you say it, your customer will question it. If they say it, it is true. Another way to help with this is to get customer feedback on a consistent basis, first of all so that you can know what your customers think about you and secondly so that you can catch the problems in your system quickly. And then, more importantly, once you have the feedback do something about it! I love the way my local Starbuck’s has taken this one step further. Every time I go in there I see a little chalk board saying, “Things we are working on this week.” It then lists 3-4 items that they have received feedback on from customers and that they are working to improve. What this does is it shows your customers that their feedback is important to you.Besides showing your customers that their feedback is important, surveys also help you to work on your business and get it to where it flows like a well oiled machine. A mechanic must know all of the different sounds of an engine so that when one piece is out of sync they know where to look. So you must know the way your business should look, feel, and sound so that when one piece is out of sync you know what needs to be changed. And who knows, it may be your expensive logo or sign.