5 Ways To Improve Your Branding

In a bid to  map out my future; the coming year, the next five years and even fifty years from now, I employed a tactic, popularly known to Mathematicians and Economists alike, as-backward induction. Visualising the heights I intend to attain, I started to work backwards, taking note of every prerequisite required for each milestone. It was then I began asking myself certain questions. One of such was: "When people hear 'Joshua Komolafe', what is the first thing they associate the name with?" That question changed my life. As a result, I started employing the "5 ways to improve your branding" systematically.

Deliberately, the word 'branding' and not 'brand', is used, as very quickly, I started to realise that a brand is continuous in nature, in that, there is no "top of mount Everest."
Someone said, "The biggest room in the world, is the room for improvement." There is need for constant assesment and 'maintainence checks', to ensure that as seasons change, due to; different economic cycles, different trends, or maybe even a change in attitude by your target market audience, you are also willing to adapt aspects of your brand, to cater for such changes, without loosing your core values.
The key word here is ‘willing'. Though, It might not always be necessary to adapt your brand, you must be aware of such changes if any and be 'open' to change if necessary.

1. Know your core values.

Ask yourself questions, write down the answer to those questions, store them away for a short while, re-visit them and finally, check to see if you still agree with what you wrote down. If not, repeat the process until you are happy (No amount of times is too much). 

You know you are in trouble when there is no direct correlation between your values and how you are perceived. That said, once you are sure of what you want to be known for/how you want to be seen, people’s perception of you will automatically align to your values. 

2. Invest Adequate time into Research.                                                        

You must actively set time aside to constantly study people or companies that are currently, 'correctly' exhibiting the values you wish to be known for. You might not necessarily need to be in contact with them but you must be willing to deconstruct their products, dressing, style etc  *mentally*...Try and break down the little pieces that make for the jigsaw you see now. Sometimes, expert help is required to understand the little pieces but once you do, the jigsaw isn't as complicated anymore. Better still, you can then begin to construct your own puzzle, as you will now have the knowledge required to do so.                                    As Albert Einstein said, "You have to learn the rules of the game and then you have to play better than any one else." 

3. Myth buster.                                                                                                

 "There is no shortcut. In most cases, The price you are ready to pay, is directly proportionate to the quality you will get." 

With regards to clothing, something I learnt very quickly, especially when I started university, was the wisdom of shopping within budget. As I've gotten older, I have started to only want to wear suits. I now actively seek out occasions when suits are not out of place (one of the reasons I love going to church). If not because of how uncomfortable it is, I would sleep in a suit.

With that in mind, I faced the dilemma of wanting to have a good range of suits without having 'enough money'.  After much window shopping ( Research and Development), I realised that there are several places that allow me to 'look good', no matter how much I have.
This further buttresses the first point; once you are sure of and can be confident in your values, you will begin to find resources that make your brand affordable.  

4. Loyal Haters.                                                                                                           

You need a  team of 2-3 people who are trustworthy perfectionists. People you can fall back on to check if you're dressed well, if your logo looks good, if you are aligning with your values and whether the values you have outlined for yourself truly suit you. 

One thing to note however, is not to get offended when they say things you might not necessarily expect or even like. I always have it in the back of my mind that, no human being has ever seen themselves before. The images we see of ourselves are actually just reflections or photographs in one way or another. It is others that really see us (physically) how we appear. You must appreciate that what you see might not always take into account the full picture. You must learn to develop a hard shell for critique and seek to utilise; at times what can be very painful words of advice, into building blocks for a better brand...For a better you!

5. Consistency.                                                                                                           

Your consistency will naturally improve your brand. It is through consistency that your  branding process will become more efficient. Consistency consists of Consistent Consistence. Consistency consistently consists Consistently. Be CONSISTENT!