Brand issues are important to ALL companies for simple reason that people buy from other people. People have personalities. Branding establishes and communicates a company's personality (sometimes referred to as company image.)

Think about YOUR company. What personality or image do you want to present to customers and prospects? Should it be warm, friendly, and down-to-earth? Polished, knowledgeable, and sophisticated?

No doubt about it. Smart marketing takes finesse. Nowhere is that truism more apt than in message definition. If you want to craft a compelling message, you need to understand your prospective buyer’s motivation.

I had a boss once whose favorite saying was "Don't assume. It makes an ass out of you and me." Drove me nuts, but you know what? It stuck. It was meaningful, memorable (although corny,) and it was repeated. (A meaningful and memorable message is more likely to stick with audience. Repetition imbeds a message in brain.)

The communications lesson inherent in this saying is "know your audience." If you want your promise (message) to be meaningful, you need to understand what's important to prospective buyers of your product or service.