Would you run an open house before the house is built? Or put up walls before the foundation is laid? Similarly, you shouldn’t start promoting your brand until a powerful, distinctive message is in place and communicated throughout your organization.

Many of today’s business executives want results yesterday and are eager to get the word out there, even before messaging is defined. The result? A diluted brand that carries little meaning, delivers minimal impact, and often confuses audiences.

Hone your message.

The first step in building a solid brand is to create a clear, consistent message and bring it to fruition in a tangible way. This can take the form of a succinct brand positioning document ─ typically one or two pages that includes a brand positioning statement and key talking points ─ or a more comprehensive multi-page core messaging document ─ that includes a unique selling proposition, elevator pitch, benefits, audiences, and segmented messaging among other pieces.

Start by considering these questions:

• What is your company story?
• What is your mission?
• What is your vision?
• What does your brand offer (e.g. products, services)?
• Why should someone buy from you?
• How do you deliver value?
• Why do you do what you do?
• How many distinct audiences do you have?
• If multiple audiences, should messaging be segmented and targeted to each?

Once finalized, this fundamental document will serve as resource for employees, as well as a reference point from which all external marketing initiatives should be created.

Speak with a unified voice.

Imagine asking five different employees what your organization does and getting five different answers in return. While not ideal, it’s a fairly common scenario. To avoid this, share final messaging with your team to ensure that everyone is consistent in the way they communicate your brand to the marketplace. Make it personal by bringing the team together in one gathering rather than sending an ineffective group email. Your employees are your brand ambassadors, so you should equip them with the knowledge and tools in an engaging way.

Some ideas for sharing your new messaging with employees:

• Distribute the messaging document to existing employees and incorporate it into the employee on-boarding process.
• Create a visually appealing employee brand card (4” x 6” or 5” x 7”) that includes your tagline, mission, vision, value proposition, and elevator pitch.
• Build a short video (consider Animoto, an online video software) comprised of your new messaging and photos of the team.