THE 7 KEY POINTERS TO SET YOUR BRAND ON ITS PATH:

1. Be focused on a singular customer type when crafting the heart of your brand; a clear, focused value proposition of relevance to that segment.

2. Stop obsessing with being ‘better’ or being different. Focus on being authentically and distinctly different and most importantly, relevant to and for you customers/ audience; being relevant is the key (so adios differentiation!)

3. For the customer and the brand to be as one, the organisation and the brand first need to be so; they are inextricably linked together; brand strategy is business strategy (and vice versa).

4. ‘People Development’ is the most important engine for successful ‘Brand Development'; if your people are not behind the brand, are not engaged or aligned... your brand will not manifest itself... you'll be stuck with a product.

5. The CEO must be an involved brand champion, not simply a passive brand supporter; brand should never be owned by marketing - it should always be owned by the CEO, Principle, MD and must be driven top down.

6. To create a successful brand you need to actually free your team, not constrain them; focus on controlled flexibility using the brand to guide and influence behaviours and actions.

7. Never make a promise you can’t keep; also, get rid of the shallow platitudes, happy smiley faces and focus on being real, being honest, being relevant.