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There’s a lot of buzz about the idea of branding. Most people think branding is about your company’s name, logo or color palette. Wrong.

Branding is about differentiating yourself from all the other companies that sell the same thing or provide the same service.

In the good old days, if your horse needed a new shoe and I owned the blacksmith shop, you came to me. Not because I put a coupon in the local paper or because I was your sister’s husband. But because I was the only option. One town, one blacksmith.

No need for branding in that scenario.

Let’s fast-forward to today. If you needed a shoe for your horse, you’d have lots of choices. All in the same town. Some on the very same street. So how do you decide?

As the shopkeeper wanting your business, I have two choices. I can either differentiate myself (translation – brand) so that you can tell how doing business with me would be a unique experience, or I can be the cheapest.

Most businesses don’t want to be the cheapest, so branding is their only option. I have to give you a reason to choose my shop. I have to clearly (and repeatedly) tell you why we’re a great match. Especially if I am not the cheapest.

Having a good product or offering good customer service is not a brand. You have to have/create a personality. You have to create a bevy of loyalists who are going to not only choose you, but also sing your praises to everyone they know. That’s the power of branding. You can create a fan club.

So … are you the cheapest or is your blacksmith shop different? Can you describe that difference?

Drew McLellan is Top Dog at McLellan Marketing Group and blogs at www.drewsmarketingminute.com. He can be reached at Drew@MclellanMarketing.com. © 2009 Drew McLellan