Your company as a brand. Think about it.
How are your products different from the competition…Really? Does your branding say so? Your company and products are constantly evolving and your once rock solid brand might currently be disjointed and send a confused message to your customer. Or, more accurately, your former customer. Your online and printed identity, packaging, distribution and pricing should all be in sync with your product to sing the same branded song. 

Your brand is a solid pledge to your customer.
It communicates a simple, clear expectation of what they will always receive from your products and services and it separates your wares from that of your competitors. This separation creates an effective brand and gives you a major advantage in the competitive contest for market share. Always delivering and being true to your brand is the most direct method of acquiring that most elusive of marketing goals…customer loyalty. While brand loyalty has waned over the decades, there’s no question that it still exists. Apple for example, is an iconic brand with an extremely well orchestrated message. Their website, packaging, retail distribution, pricing and products all have the exact same look and feel and are in lockstep with each other.

Defining your brand can be arduous and take some time to solidify.
Optimally, it requires insight into your company’s mission, features and benefits of your products, investigation into your customer’s current perception of you and how you would like it to change.  Are you the pioneering free spirit in your business arena or are you the dependable veteran (the Red Bull versus the Coca Cola of your industry)?  Do you stress superb quality and its attendant high cost or is high-value, high-volume your target?  What are your customer’s needs?

You must also generate a comprehensive branding strategy.
The most important manifestation of your brand is… you know this; yep it’s your LOGO.  All of your marketing efforts should integrate your logo and communicate your brand.  Your brand strategy is how, what, where, when and to whom you plan to target your brand message.  Each of these elements must be refined and written down.

Once you've defined your brand and incorporated it into company policy, you must give your brand wide distribution to every employee and document in your company’s style guide.  To continue your brand’s strength and momentum, creation and maintenance a corporate style guide is paramount. Generally, corporate style guides should be updated every 2-3 years.

Branding extends to every area of your business, both internal and external.
It extends into phone calls, e-mail, press releases, your website and every personal business interaction. Then, be true to your brand.  Customers will not return or recommend you if you don’t deliver on your pledge.  Be consistent. No shortcuts, no lapses, no special cases.  If you invest the effort to create an attention-getting company brand and follow-up with the discipline that effective branding requires, you will create happy customers who become eager "brand ambassadors" and form an extended unpaid sales team.