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Editor's Notes

• #3: Scott Cook, Founder of Intuit. One-third of the U.S. economy already flows through Intuit software via payroll, invoicing and taxes, according to FORBES.com. Intuit’s top 2 products represent half of their revenue. QuickBooks (90% market share) and TurboTax (91% market share). #57 on Forbes list of the World’s 100 most innovative companies.
• #4: WHO are you. WHERE are you situated in the marketplace. WHAT are you offering. WHY should I buy from you. HOW are you making my life easier or better. Personal Brand exercise. Title and Tagline.
• #5: Building a brand is like having a baby: Conception(DNA), Birth(LAUNCH), Development (NURTURE, PROTECT). Growth(INTERNAL & EXTERNAL FACTORS). Maturity(RISK ASSESMENT, SWOT Analysis). It needs a support system, it needs a lot more in the early stages of life, it depends on you a lot in its infancy.
• #6: Branding is the most misunderstood concept in all of marketing, even among professionals. Before you spend a dime on advertising you must define your brand’s identity. De-code its DNA. If you can't define your brand, your customers won't be able to, either. And the risk is that someone else will define it for you—probably your competition. Answer the hard questions: WHO are you, WHERE are you, WHY, WHAT, HOW.
• #7: Your product or service is not your company's brand. Your logo is not your company brand. Your brand is the genuine "personality" of your company. Your brand is what your company stands for. And it all starts with you and your partners. This is a process of discovery and exploration. You must be honest and true to yourself. Look in the mirror, ask yourself what you stand for. Ask your leadership how they would define your company’s personality. Ask them what they think the company stands for(customized survey). Make a list of the top ten answers. Then call a meeting, or have an off-site retreat session. Have an honest and open conversation. From this list pick the 4 that are most valuable to you company: the company would not exist without them. Settle on the 4, get consensus, get buy-in from the leadership. These 4 become the corners of your brand foundation. Build your brand from the ground up on this foundation.
• #8: It's what the world around you perceives your company, what others know about your company and how they feel about it, it’s what people say and think of your company by virtue of their experience, knowledge and exposure to your company’s products, services, affiliations, people, associates, employees, suppliers, board members, investors, history, performance, successes and failures.
• #9: How you launch your brand is critical. The message must be consistent, true to the core, clear and clean. Your brand is the promise you make to the world. FACT: EVERYTHING is marketing. EVERYBODY is in sales. Think of marketing like a toolbox containing branding, advertising, direct mail, public relations, and other tools. "Marketing represents the combination of methods organizations use to persuade their target audience toward some specified behavior such as sales," says Stephen Rapier, of Glendale -Calif. based Artime Group. Your Brand Is a Lifestyle - Cecil says. "Crafting a winning marketing strategy is challenging enough even when you have articulated your brand promise and is probably impossible if you haven't." "A brand creates an image in the mind of the consumer. It says something is different at your firm, something worth more than business as usual. If your firm is just a commodity, your customers will choose you solely on the basis of price or getting something for free. Nothing wrong with that. But if you've got a brand, you're selling a lifestyle and when you are selling a lifestyle you can sell anything you want." says Steve Manning, managing director at Igor, a branding firm based in San Francisco.
• #10: Conquer your fear Talent=Value Talent Brand=FREE Marketing Talent eBrand=Online Marketing