To promote your brand, you first have to be clear what it is, or what you want it to be. In essence, your brand should be unique. In a nutshell, it is what can be associated with your business and no other. Think of any hugely successful brand and you'll know exactly what I mean.
To identify what it is about your business that you should be promoting, take a piece of paper and make a list of the key points of your business operation that you'd like to be known for. Whether you're selling a product or service, there will be elements of your operation that distinguishing you from competitors.
Your Unique Selling Point
Identifying your unique selling point objectives also studying your market. What are your customers looking for?
Remember that they will likely be looking for authenticity and originality. Often, they'll pick your product over others if it, or your selling point, meets a need or solves a problem for them. We are emotional creatures. Selling is all about feelings. Knowing how your customers feel, what they want and how they think is critical. You simply can not study this too much. You may even consider commissioning an expert to create a "Persona" for you. A Persona is a profile of a "typical customer," that you would sell to. Persona's are exceptionally detailed. They should include every aspect of your "customer's" lifestyle. Of course, for some products or services, you may have to create a range of Personas in order to accurately fine-tune your brand.
Identifying Your Overlap
The points where what your customers want and what you are most proud of overlap is your unique selling point. Of course you can have more than one selling point, but try to identify the major USP and focus your campaigns on that.
Developing an effective brand strategy will give you credibility. It will make you more attractive to customers, and if you do it right, you will knock out all your competitors with the least effort on your part. Focusing on your brand is an essential part of marketing. You can not win without your brand.
Once you've worked out a brand strategy, you're working is not quite over. It's important to involve everyone in the process of "branding your business." Every member of your staff should know about the process, and should be aware that everything they do has the potential to impact your brand, either negatively or positively.