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BUILD YOUR BRAND

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BUILD YOUR BRAND

by G.N Foby

Copyright © 2021 G.N Foby.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying and recording, or by any information
storage and retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted
by the Copyright Act or by the publisher.

Requests for permission should be made in writing to:

G.N Foby, Port Harcourt.

foby@gnfoby.com
+234 902 624 8136
www.gnfoby.com

ISBN: 9798662918603
Imprint: Independently published

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You have a brand. Everyone does. Whether they know it or not does not stop them from
having one. To some, it is an influencer brand, to some, a thought leader brand and to
another, an inactive brand. Whether you influence people, people take your ideologies as
guiding principles for life or you are seen as one of the normal in the street, what people
see you as, is how they relate with you. That is your brand.

This book is here to help you build an authentic one and also help you manage the
reputation you will like to be reckoned with. Either as a business or as a person you are.

From my desk.

G. N Foby

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Content
___

Introduction
Clarity
Identity
Communication
Visibility
Memorable
Reputation
Ambassador
A Recap

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Introduction
…
…the impression people get by
the expression you make

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Introduction
It was a rainy afternoon in the Treasure
base city of Nigeria - Port Harcourt. The
state governor, Nyesom Wike, was in a
community event in one of the
communities in his state. Pastor David
Ibiyeomie who pastors about a 75-
thousand-man church in same city would
also be in the same event I was heading
for. These two city giants traveling in
almost the same direction caused a great
traffic jam as their followers crowded the
highway. Stuck in traffic that afternoon on
my way to TEDx PortHarcourt in the
beautiful Horlinkins Event Centre, I was
lost in thought of the ancient story of the
city of Babel.

One kid story I enjoyed was the one told us

by Mr. Princewill. He told us about an
ancient event in a city called Babel. How a
sky scrapper was built with the intention
of making it get into heavens, how the
language changed among the people and
how the building fell as well.

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Now in my adult mind, I was questioning

myself about what the change of
language got to do with the falling of a
gigantic sky scrapper. Did the change of
language change the quality of bricks? Or
did it change the depth and strength of
the foundations? Then it dawned on me
that what fell was not the building of a
house, but a BRAND.

Brand
I remember reading an article online one
day where I saw this statement, “If at any
time we hear the word “brand”, we are
credited with a coin into our bitcoin
account, we would have been richer than
Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates. Then if we
received a coin for any time we heard a
misconception or misinterpretation of it,
we would have had enough coin to even
buy the internet itself.” The misconception
of what a brand is among people is great,
and here I call the Tower of Babel another
brand. If really the tower of Babel is a
brand, what then is a brand?
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The idea of branding is not anything new.
It has always been from the ancient time
when the predominant form of business
was just farming. Animal farmers
dominated the today Asian continent of
which Israel is part. It was an initiative to
both identify and differentiate one’s sheep
or livestock from others. It is not just true
in today’s business environment, but has
also grown into a determining factor in
business and individual reputation
management and psychological
assessment. It is an idea and experience to

be reckoned the
with. It is

impression people get by

the expression you make.
To build an idea and experience to be
reckoned with today in the busy cluster of
similitude, we ought to be very careful and
precise the kind of bricks we are building
with.

Research shows that the average

traditional businesses ran in African
countries and other Asian countries are

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basically geared to make ends meet

regardless of what the business is known
for over the years as time goes on.

The essence of this book is to teach how

you can effectively build a brand with the
right bricks for the right results if your
tower, either personal or corporate must
not fall.

READ!

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 1

Clarity
“When purpose is not defined, abuse is
inevitable – Dr Myles Munroe

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Clarity
“Foby, please what do you think about our
idea so far?” David, my good friend asked
me. It was a two-hour business meeting. I
was invited to consult for his team on how
to better the business idea they had before
execution and to develop a brand strategy
for them as well. So, for the first time, I
gave a teaching on Brand Litmus. A
concept I had developed to help people
better equip their brands for good public
appraisal and reputation.

They had a brilliant idea of having an

internet business for social connectivity
and interestingly, they had gone a long
way coding and developing it. But my
question was, “How is this different from
Facebook and Twitter?” you see, my friend,
building a brand that will excel and break
bounds begins with clarity of purpose that
is different and is an answer to a specific
problem. If you are solving a problem
another person is already solving, your
interest should be; in what unique and

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better way are you doing it to make

maximum difference from the regular way
the ordinary person would do it? That is
business. The following ways will help.

Value proposition

What can you not compromise

in yourself and the idea you
want to be reckoned with? What
is it you do as either a selling point or a
basic activity that you cannot jeopardize
no matter what happens in the society or
in your organization? These are values.
Mind you, I am not talking about strategies
for marketing or sales. I am talking about
the core components that make your
brand the one you are building for your
audience. You are not far from failure as a
brand if you are not sure what your values
are. Brand values are her backbones.
All developed strategies communicate
them and all services or goods show them.
It is the reason your products or services
will never go into extinction.
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If you are a speaker, you have to define the
values you give anytime your voice is
heard. If you are a craftsman, abstracts,
simplicity or hyperrealism could be your
main value you do not joke with when you
want to deliver your work. A hair dressing
saloon might insist on world class delivery,
speed and customer satisfaction as issues
of great importance your brand should be
associated with. Craft your values and stick
to it.

Three Magic Words

Years ago, when I was in primary school, I
was introduced to a technique for
memorizing things, which really helped. I
was told to write a sentence or the strings
of texts I was to memorize on a card, and
at the other side of the card, I should write
three magic words that would help me
remember the texts I had previously
written at the other side of the card. This
technique worked as it in less than 6
months turned me into an “A” student
who championed the class from primary 3,
all through my primary school days.

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Many years after, the idea has not still left

my brain as I worked as a brand developer
and consultant for both corporate bodies
and individuals. At every time I met a
client, I ask them to define their three
magic words, and if they do not have, I
help them craft some.

Three Magic words are words

that define your brand’s values,
objectives and missions. It is the
summary of your brand’s values
in just three most defining
words. For my personal brand, my
magic words are Educate, Inspire, and
Transform. All my books, speeches and
events are geared towards my core values
of transforming people by helping them
out of distress, debt and discontentment
in their lives permanently. So, I speak
encouragement, seasoned with my sense
of humor, to lift the distressed. I educate
on the practicality of getting your income
increased so one can get out of debt and
inspire people into discovering their

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purpose in the global agenda of God, in
which they can find contentment and
relevance.

For my business brand, our magic words

are Discover, Define and Design. Brand
discovery includes industry research,
questioning customers etc. Definition
includes knowing or creating brand values,
defining competitors, creating business
strategies, audience definition, defining
visibility style, analyzing sales and
marketing patterns suitable for the
reputation you are creating etc. Designing
goes down to getting to create the visual
representations of your brand ideologies
to communicate just the synaesthesia you
intend to communicate to your audience.

Get your values straight, and pick your

magic words for them.

Audience definition
When I was new into graphic design, I was
designing for anyone who had a design
need and called for my help. Most times,
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for free. When the need increased, I began

learning all manner of design skills and
started entering into all manner of design
disciplines to make sure I served everyone
who called for my expertise. But sooner, I
jack of all
realized I have become

trades and master of none. I

was getting worn out trying to serve
everyone. I did all manner of visual
creations without perfection or good
expertise on anyone. My problem was not
that I could not be good in one if I
concentrated on it. My problem was that I
was serving everyone. I never sat to choose
who I was in business for and who I should
concentrate on.

Similarly, I read the story of a woman who

in a business class was asked who her
target audience was, and she said “all
women”. “Excuse me? You are doing a
business for all women in the world? How
on earth will you be able to make sure they
are all satisfied? You mean you really want
to satisfy all the women on earth?” Those
were the words of her instructor born out

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of amazement as his eyes bulged out and
his eyebrows rose. “Ma’am, let us define
your audience please,” he said.

Let me teach you wisdom I learnt from

Tayo Abobarin in his book Magic Wand
Brand Strategy, He said “Always create
customer avatar.” This is the meaning.
Create an imaginary person who you think
can patronize you. One who has a need
you can meet and can pay you the way
you want to be paid in meeting the need.
Make it so real. Create the profile with a
real person in mind. That helps to keep
you focused on who and what you want.

Example for me, a brand developer;

Avatar one

Name: Wisdom

Age: 37

Status: Married

Location: Nigeria

Education: MSc

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Industry: Politics

Role: Member of House

of Rep

Income: 150 million naira

per annum*

Goal: To become a
member of
Parliament

Challenge: Getting enough

votes

This is a typical example of what I mean.

By this, I have been able to set my mind on
who needs me and how I can help serve
them better.

With the above avatar, I have been able to

define many things about my customer.
By education, I could assume their
reasoning level and mental exposure. By
role in industry, I could assume their
leadership and responsibility level. By
income, I could assume how much they
could release for this kind of job and that
helps me in determining how much I
should charge as well. By defining their
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goals, I have known their hunger is beyond
their reach. That then is their challenge.

Now as a brand developer, digital

marketer and creative visual designer, my
job is to move this person from where he is
to where he wants to be with my branding
skills and internet prowess. This includes
building an image of him to the public
that will support his mission and vision as
a politician. To this, I would have created
an avenue for visual communication
contact with the masses in other to build
the trust and reliability they need in him.
This is my job.

In creating customer avatar, you can

create as much as possible and define as
much customers as your scope of work
niche and the brand you want to build can
help.

Identifying competitors
In the world today are about 7.7 billion
people. That is an alarming statistic.
Among these are varieties of people
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having different skills and educational

qualifications, people with different
intellectual inequalities, and heads with
different ideas. To think that there will not
be clash of thoughts will be a terrible
mistake. People are thinking and making
decisions 24/7. Any idea you are having or
executing is seriously in another man’s
head probably working out in the gym of
his thought or even is being executed.
Wisdom will demand that you find out
who your competitors are and how they
go about their branding for influence,
dominance, profitability and difference.

In a business I was called to brand, during

our meeting and brand clarity session, this
was what the team leader said. “This is the
business idea sir, and so far, there is no
competition we have seen.” This can
happen in rare cases. Of course, Uber was
the first of its kind. Wisdom should also
guide you to know that the fact that you
are the first to come onboard does not
make you immune to competitors that
must emerge. Every Uber will have a Bọlt

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or a Taxify to contend with, especially in
the African market.

After you have known your competitors,

develop a strategy for “outbranding” them.
A way to be more preferred in the market
place than they are and will be. This is how
to practically do it:

1. Write down 10 things and perhaps the

ways your competitors do what they do
that made them climb the high ladder of
influence and patronage.

2. Sit and think creatively of at least two

ways each to do better than they do. In
total, you will have developed at least 20
strategies to becoming better in the
market place.

3. Look for your attitudinal difference and

note how yours is either helping or
repelling your business from growth. Fix
the bad and accelerate the good.

The survival of your brand is dependent on

this. Jack Welch would say; “If you don’t

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have competitive advantage, don’t

compete.”

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Identity
…the experience we have with you.

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Identity

I grew up in a typical African environment

where we wake up to meet complains of a
neighbor who is looking for her chicken.
Chicken theft was a normal thing either
from human or kites. And some argue over
the resemblance of their chicken.

These chicken owners devised a means to

handle that situation once and for all.
Some painted their chicken with Gentian
Violet ink to deface them from kites and
some tied a piece of red cloth to their
feathers to differentiate them from the
one of others in the neighborhood. By this
very simple wisdom of the aged, they have
without much struggle created identities
for their livestock.

Creating brand identities should not look

big because of the “business” name it
carries. It is the very basic thing we do
even unconsciously.

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As people with smart minds, we identify

things and people with their names, how
they look, how they behave and the
experience we have with them. Let me
help you fix some puzzle about identity
creation starting with a brand name.

Brand Name
A brand name is a unique identifier of your
brand written in letters. If you are building
a personal brand, your name is very okay.
Else, look out for the following if you want
to choose a brand name for your corporate
brand:

Must be unique (Unfamiliar)

The uniqueness of your name is one of

your key guarantees for survival.
Uniqueness here does not mean a name
that is never heard, it means a name that
can easily be associated with your brand.
Using names like the initials of your own
name and surname could be great, but be
sure it is not a popular initial. An initial like
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M.J has been held by many. It simply will
communicate Michael Jackson, Michael
Jordan or Mercy Johnson. Choose wisely.

Easy to spell and pronounce

Names that can easily sell are names that

can easily be spelt and pronounced.
Truthfully, many people like using their
names as brand name but please be sure
your name can be easily pronounced and
spelt on hearing. Some traditional African,
South-America and Asian local language
names containing nasal consonants may
not be very good one to use, considering
the stress it will take some foreign
journalists and investors in trying to
pronounce it. Apple and Adidas are as easy
to spell as they are pronounced.

Abstract is okay

Some people have a tradition of

conventional thinking that your name
should at least explain what you do. Good
as that may sound, it is not a rule. Apple
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Inc. do not sell apple fruits neither are they

selling apple juice.

Meaning

If you want to use a foreign language,

make sure you know the exact meaning of
the word you wish to use.

“Nonsense” is okay

Most cultures have a strong belief that

names and their meanings have a lot to do
with people’s success or failure. Not so in
business. If it sounds good, and meets the
requirements for being a brand name, use
it even though it sounds like nonsense. It
must not be meaningful, yes, it is okay.
Google means absolutely nothing and it is
selling.

Brand Designs
There is this love I have for the Nivea
brand. Beyond the quality of the products,
the maturity and professionalism their
visual designers bring to work is absolutely
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amazing. They brought me close before I
even decided to see for myself the quality
of the products they got.

Have you been in a situation whereby you

had to identify a person whose name you
do not know? I guess you started from
describing his looks and possibly his
tattoos and tribal marks if present. As we
cannot deny the visible description of an
unknown person, so it is with our business.
This identity starts from the primary of
them all. Logo.

Logo

A silent competition is thrown anytime a

brand identity design request is brought
to my table. This is because I know I must
make out something that has never been
done in the whole world, if it must be
unique. It must have never been done by
both the living and the great designers
who have passed on to eternity. These are
my guides. I really do look out earnestly for
the following:

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Professionalism
If you have an identity given to you by a
novice designer, you are really messing up
your brand before you start it. You might
likely not go far with that logo. Avoid lazy
designers who are simply Freepikers or
Pngtree customers, perhaps Tailorbrand
fans.
One test of professionalism is, "how does it
look on monochrome?" If the look on
monochrome is not appealing to a good
degree, please consider a redesign. (I am
very careful in saying this, because some
people are very skeptical, sensitive, picky
and are never satisfied no matter what
design is given them. I really do not mean
the judgment of these kinds of persons.)

Uniqueness
If your logo reminds any man a particular
brand that existed before yours, you need
a change of logo. Your business will rather
promote the business of the other brand.
In worst case, if the other brand does what
your own brand hates, you are in trouble.
You need a redesign. Do not make your
logo using a logo generator. No! Do not try

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that. If you do, chances are that you would
get the same logo another person got.

Perception
It has never been compulsory your logo
must tell what you do. You can go abstract,
it's OK. e.g Nike, Apple, Google, Coca Cola,
etc.

Simplicity

Every man likes what is easy to memorize

and remember. Making your logo complex
and of much detail like ‘Coat of Arms’ does
not make plenty sense in the 21st century.
You will have to market too much to make
the people familiar with your brand
identity.

Colour Psychology

In choosing visuals that resonate with the

core of your being, and that speaks your
language, one must be meticulously sure
the exact communication that is being

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passed to the minds of people via the

choice of colours they use.

Colours set the psychological tune and

sometimes the emotional decision your
audience make when they get in contact
with your materials. Because people and
geographic locations vary, the
psychological positioning for
communications also vary. Thus, their
interpretation of colours and symbols also
varies. But generally, some colours are
more global in depicting an idea than
some others.

Deciding on colour is getting to set a

mental positioning for your audience to
trigger an involuntary action in them that
you need for your business. Some colours
scare, and some others soothe. Some
trigger action and some others bring
calmness. Your choice is your lot.

Shapes and synaesthesia

Different symbols mean different things to

different people as culture and ethnicity

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varies. But of all, these symbols, when
made or communicated in visual forms
send signals to people who come in
contact with them. This contact strikes a
chord in the symphony of their memory
archive that resonates with an idea stored
in their mental bank.

In the ‘Crocodile city’ of Nigeria, Kaduna,

and among most states in the northern
Nigeria, there is a universal symbol called
“the Awera nut”. It is a visual
representation of an intent and practice of
peace and unity from the ancient time.
Everyone who comes across that symbol
remembers the need to perpetuate peace
as the predecessor celebrated it without
regret.

When necessity calls for a visual

presentation of these ideas and intentions
that are internalized in the mind of people
through symbols, they are represented in
shapes.

One of the toughest things I do in my life is

creating shapes that communicate an
idea or represent a narrative. This is

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because, whatever people see, they give a

subconscious initial interpretation to.
These interpretations can either be
appealing and compelling or it can also be
appalling and repelling. Either of them is a
subconscious decision caused by an event
in the mind called “Synaesthesia”.

The two figures above will be our quick

test to help us better reach a mutual
knowledge on synaesthesia. If I ask you to
name them “Boobooboo” and “Kiikiikii”,
which of the figures will you name which?
Your judgment for the naming convention
is influenced by synaesthesia. There is
nothing attaching any name to any figure,
just that somehow in our mind, the shapes
we see with our eyes makes a sound in our

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minds, and then we decide the name by
the sound it has made. To many, Figure 1
should make a Kiikiikii sound and Figure 2
makes a Boobooboo sound. In reality of
this, sight is not responsible for
interpreting sounds, yet synaesthesia
happens to our minds.

So, in deciding shapes, you should make

sure your brand identity designs and
visuals are communicating the
synaesthesia you wish your audience to
have.

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Communication
…not just what we say but the totality of what
and who we are.

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Communication
Whether we like it or not, we are known as
something or for something. Either by our
conscious acts to create such impression,
or by just being free with our lives and
letting the ball roll anyway. We are
constantly communicating something
that forms the basis for that which defines
us.

Communication is not
just what we say but the
totality of what and who
we are. It is the silent scream that
explains to people an introvert and the
norm they agree with about an extrovert.
It is the message that is given when you
are being smiled at by the receptionist and
the conduciveness of a business or
religious room when you walk into it.

Brand communication is that which your

dressing tells of you even before you ever

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open your mouth to speak for yourself. It is

the idea we communicate as we climb a
podium even before we speak.

To successfully manage these ideologies

as we communicate them, we must first
know that this determines what we are
taken for and in turn determines the way
we will be addressed. To ensure you
communicate your brand properly all the
time, it has to be always preplanned and
prepared for.

Every communication is done with a

language, thus, creating your brand
language is not out of place. Languages
could mean different things when done
with different voices. Voice influences
meaning and understanding. Voice
conveys messages. Message is what the
people understand. To communicate
effectively, you have to create your
language, choose your voice, get a
message, and be consistent at it.

Let me help you through the process.

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 Create your brand language
Back to our Babel story. The totality of
what we were told in the bible story we
read was that the whole world was all
speaking one language. The human race
decided to build for themselves a gigantic
edifice to keep them together and to
make a name for themselves. That is, for
Unity and Prestige.

The idea was not the reason for the failure

of that project, neither was the building
plan or the structural engineers and
project managers that were on the project.
It failed to become a success simply
because there was a failure in upholding
the originality of the language with which
the idea, experience and memorial the
project was to bring on to the people. This
failure was caused by just a simple change
of language.

As powerful and great any idea can be, or

as potentially successful as any brand can
be, when a different language other than
the one with which it was built upon is
introduced, it can crash the whole stuff, if
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the new language does not further explain

in clarity and simplicity the original intent.
If what is being communicated is different
from the former, it will crash the former.

You must ensure you have a very

consistent way your brand is being
communicated continuously.

What exactly do you have to offer? How

are you going about it? That is the
message. Your language should be
derived from your three magic words. Let
me walk you through the process of
getting your communication set for better
brand building experience.

Form your brand voice.

If one must not be dumb in the market
place, he must have a voice with which to
speak his language. To one, it may be his
style of music, to another his excellence in
creating visuals, and to some other, the
intellectual prowess and expertise in
delivering speeches with compelling
narratives and appealing word-flow.
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Whichever way, your voice must be heard
for your language to be understood.

So, creating a voice alongside your passion

or business is not a thing to give a second
thought about. It is compulsory.

According to the most common trend

now in the internet, people are craving so
hard to be seen as thought leaders in their
fields of endeavors. A tasking stuff is being
marred by preponderant number of
people running towards it. Young
entrepreneurs seeking to gain dominance
in the market place the wrong way.
Whichever way, if you must be one that
will champion the course of your
profession or discipline, you must be
knowledgeable enough to guide and
direct the people coming behind you.
Thus, you ought to speak very often
whichever way you do, either via your
social media posts, or a consistent, open
community event around your locality. Get
enough knowledge and dispense it very
well. You can sell it if you like, but just find
a way of being heard. Create a platform
and make sure you are being heard.
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Build a brand message

Inasmuch as you ought to have an avenue
to use your voice, you also have to get a
consistent message. This is not same as
your brand language, but closely similar to
it. Your message is that which you are
consistent with all the time. Language is
the way it is being said, which might
change per time. The message is the end
point of every communication. What does
your audience leave with every time they
hear you? That should be consistent and
become progressively imparting and
increasing in worth as the day goes by.

Uber’s message is safety and ease. Apple

is security and class. Coca cola is Taste
and affordability. Guinness is sense of
pride. Nivea is comfort and safety. In all
these, you see consistency in all their
adverts as they communicate the same
thing over and over, but with different
approaches.

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 Elevator pitch.
Imagine you are in an elevator seventeen
floors away from the lobby, and you are
going down to the lobby. You have
pressed the “L” button and your journey
begins. Then on your way down to the 14th
floor, you find Aliko Dangote join the same
elevator and he is going down to the 10th
floor. You know Dangote is the richest
man in Africa and he can turn your
business around if he is interested or sees
sense in it. Just imagine.

Now if you meet him, and you greet him

and your time in the elevator is ticking fast
in seconds, and you have to tell him
something about your business that will
interest him enough to give you attention
for investment, what will you say in one
minute or less?

Forget about how nervous you will be.

That is an elevator pitch. It means,
explaining yourself in one sentence or less
than one minute.

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My elevator pitch is, “I am G.N Foby, I help

my clients build and communicate their
brands using a design centered approach.”

Founder Institute in USA has given

guideline on how to get that done. Get in
touch with their website at www.fi.org and
be educated on how to create yours. (I
hope they do not change this web address
anytime soon).

Keep saying it
When you have created a language,
gotten voice, built a message, and have
your elevator pitch, be consistent with it.
Keep saying it until you are known for it
everywhere as Lionel Messi is known for
football. And even when you do, if you will
not get out of business and out of mind
soon, just keep saying it.

44
 4

Visibility
…has nothing to do with how long you
have been in the marketplace

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BYB

46
Visibility
The people gathered with one motive; to
build a monument that gets them always
connected and reminds them of their
pride. Babel was indeed an idea so great.
One captivating reality of that story is that
they made it stand tall, so high into the
heavens that they could see it from any
corner of the world where they find
themselves. They wanted it visible enough
to connect them to the originality of what
formed them.

How good or wild will your idea go, and sell

if it is not visible? What will make your
potential customers connect with you if
they do not see you? Build your edifice so
high that it should be visible from any
point around your domain of market. If
you do not walk down to that recording
studio and get your song done, how on
earth are people going to hear you? How
are we going to drink from your creative
juice?

47
BYB

About 8 billion people on earth today, all

having needs that should be met. Your
strategy, wisdom, excellence, music, or
whatever you do that brings solution to
people’s problem is needed. But if you do
not make yourself visible and known in the
marketplace, even though you have the
ultimate solution, you cannot in any way
be patronized. I cannot buy from a person I
do not even know sells.

Your visibility has nothing to do with how

long you have been in the marketplace or
how long you have been around people. It
is how strategic and intentional you are
about being seen and known. AirBnB and
Uber just came to the market not quite
long ago, but they have become visible
even to the blind and their voices are quite
audible to the deaf.

There are few ways here I will show you to

make that happen to your own idea,
business, ministry or whatever you want to
create a brand around. Here are few:

48
 Open campaigns
It is a regular thing for the city of Accra to
have a steaming temperature at the noon
hours of the day. This fateful day was not
an exception. As I was walking through the
Medina market, I saw a very big van with
people in it playing very loud music,
dancing and creating a scene in that busy
area. All over the van was different
inscription of Nivea designs. Then it was
obvious Nivea was here again. They used
the music-dance strategy to gather
people, and while the people watched the
dancers perform their arts, sales persons
approached them to woo them to buy the
Nivea product they had in their hands.

If your country does not have issues with

noise as mine, Nigeria does not, and most
African countries do not, you can employ
same strategy. It does not only help people
know of your existence as a brand, it also
helps you sell your ideas or products and
as well build a larger audience that could
become loyalists in the nearest future
depending on how you handle them.

49
BYB

Run Adverts
We see bill boards and posters all over
town as we drive through exits on
highways and suburbs of our towns and
cities. These billboards are people’s
businesses and ministries and ideas and of
all, brands that they want to make visible
to you and I. Creating your own billboard
and setting it up in strategic locations is
not anything bad, you are not the first and
surely will not be the last to do that.

To you that is almost about to trash this

idea because you do not have enough
money to fund that project, what do you
think about printing flyers and keeping
them at the front desk of city malls,
banking halls, and strategic locations in
town that interested people can pick them
up and read and get to have a contact
with you? If you cannot do the big, why
not try the small and be consistent at it?

Running adverts are not only physical as

the world has become digitized. You can
set up internet ads with Google, Facebook,

50
Instagram and the likes and also be sure
you can see patronages.

Social Media
A media giant and founder of Headstart
Africa (a premium online business forum
with over a hundred thousand members),
John Obidi, made a statement and I
concur with it one hundred percent. He
said, “The future is social media” and “The
closest thing man has come to
omnipresence is the internet.” 90% of
business consulting contracts and jobs I
have gotten are all from social media. In
fact, the social media is the main place I
get my clients. Because you need a large
audience to hear your voice, you ought to
get a platform where you can speak from a
point and reach a large number of people.
And because you want to hear from your
customers and will always want to profer
the right solutions to their feedbacks
consistently, you ought to be found where
they are mostly found, and that is social
media.
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BYB

The power of social media for visibility is

not fully harnessed by many. Facebook
alone records over 2 billion users, LinkedIn,
Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp and so on
are there for professionals and business
people to meet and interact. These are
cities without borders, you do not have to
apply for a visa and stamp passport before
you can run adverts in a location outside
your country or outside your city. I know
people who sell their WhatsApp status
space. They gather lots of contacts and
because of the potency of their personal
brand and the influence they command
among their network, many people in turn
have their contacts and since the contact
is mutual, status updates can be seen and
because of the influence, their views are
many, so these fellows are paid to run
adverts on their status.

Now the problem with handling social

media is that many people and businesses
are on social media just for social media
sake, but not really knowing the right
platform that is best suitable for their
brand. Being on so many social media
platforms can be very distracting and
52
tough to manage. So, choose based on the
importance, relevance and the nature of
the brand you want to build. For example,
Twitter is best fit for news and trends, so,
brands that have to do with quick updates
and trends such as news sites and
broadcasting networks and gossips can
leverage more on Twitter.
Facebook is best for building communities
and networks. LinkedIn is also best for
networking professionally and building
business contacts without borders, A
musician might not even need a LinkedIn
account, what for? Maybe I don’t know.
Instagram is best for visual media. Graphic
designers, musicians and public speakers
can as well leverage on the visual
centeredness of Instagram to boost their
work and make themselves visible. There
are other social media that help differently
too. You choose the one that best fits your
business and stick to it. Use at most three
to help you manage and engage properly.

Business Scouting
As a child, I grew up seeing occasional
marketers come with their products to
53
BYB

educate the masses and find time to sell

them as well. Most of these guys are
startup companies and they come
carrying their products with them to you
to convince you to buy them, and mostly
with promotional offers. That is the most
difficult form of cold calling I knew as a
child. But in all, we end up knowing them
and identifying with them when next they
come around.

Later on, as I grew older and necessities

and responsibilities increased, my financial
need also increased and I had to find a way
to sell my skills and expertise to make
more money, so I started meeting people I
knew could patronize me if only they buy
my idea. So, I met people and told them
what I do, sometimes even after church
services, conferences and events I
attended.

Friend, have you told people about what

you do, really? Have you written proposals
to people and businesses that you know
can patronize you? How many of them
have you written?

54
Go out and meet people with your brand
and tell them how much they need you.
Most assuredly, two things will happen:
First, they will know you, and secondly,
they might patronize you and become
your loyal customers. Go out and become
visible.

55
BYB

56
 5

Memorable
Distance does not kill relationships, lack of
communication does.

57
BYB

58
Memorable
If amongst every child that made my
childhood memorable, I am asked who
rocked it with me so well; I will always say
my elder brother. We played very well,
especially hide and seek with my other
siblings and anyone who visited the house
at the time. We also played game-of-trust.
Game-of-trust is a very interesting game; I
am asked to close my eyes and trust him
to lead me. All I had to do was to follow his
instructions: “Go right two steps, walk
forward. Stop! Bend a little lower, lower a
little more. That’s ok! And then I am seated
in the living room on our plastic chair.

Game-of-trust is not anything fun at all

without blindfolding. Interestingly, this
game is done in real life. You might have
seen people queuing up to buy food from
a restaurant and the next restaurant just
right beside it is not having enough
patronage. Or a bakery that will boast that
if they do not finish selling out the breads
they have baked for the day, other

59
BYB

bakeries around them will not make sales.

There are people who no matter how hard
you advertise your products or services
around them, they will never patronize
you, reason being that you came to get a
slot that has been given to someone else
who has gained their trust. They are
blindfolded from coming your way.

For your brand to become a go-to brand

every time, you have to learn the art of
‘brandfolding’, that is, blindfolding people
from choosing other brands but yours. It is
the art of making your brand stick to the
minds of people all the time. The ability of
your brand to be constantly memorable in
the mind of your clients makes you
perpetually in business. Below are my few
tips on how to keep your brand
memorable.

Give out free stuff

If you have ever stayed in Lagos, Nigeria
and you are asked where you get beef
barbecue, ‘Obalende’ should not be a
strange answer. We know right here in
60
Nigeria what suya taste is all about. It is the
taste that determines whether or not your
money will be spent for getting that
particular suya. When the aboki, gives you
a slice of it to taste and the taste of it hits
you really hard, you will not mind spending
your last dime on suya. This suya taste is
always given as gift before you decide
whether or not you will ever make any
financial commitment. It is the very simple
magic gifts can do.

Gifts most times do not tell how much

riches in the giver’s possession, but how
much love the giver has. It connects to the
heart than it does to the head. It awakens
emotional bonds between the giver and
the receiver. It keeps the receiver with a
feeling of debt. He will want to reciprocate.

That is exactly what happens to your brand

and your customers when you give them
free things. It is not always about selling at
the first time, but setting up a system that
allows you sell all the time.

I cannot tell how much this simple suya

taste lesson has helped me in my relations

61
BYB

with clients. It gets them indebted, and if I

get that successfully done, I have my
brand memorable in your mind.

Expectation and Experience

Every customer has an expectation when
they come to you for your service. They
have something in mind they want to
achieve as you work with them or for
them. Don’t get it wrong, before you
picked up this book to read, you were
expecting something from it. That is
simply the case with everyone. That
expectation is an experience they want to
have.

If you want to trap a customer and get him

thinking of you, give him an experience
beyond his expectation. A wonderful
experience he cannot deny. It could be in
your interpersonal relation, your very polite
way of conversation, your integrity with
words and deadlines, your breathtakingly
awesome designs, your product package,
your selfless service, non-money-centered
approach and many more.
62
One of the best competitive advantage
situations you will ever have to beat your
competitors is when customer’s
expectation is low. Just go ahead, do all
you can do to give them a jaw dropping
experience. Add more free things if
possible and make him know it’s for free.
Love your customers, not their money and
you’ll get them forever.

Contented or Overwhelmed
When you finish a business with someone,
how do they leave you? Contented or
overwhelmed? If you give them what they
want, they will be contented. But give
them more than they expected, they will
be overwhelmed. That very super
overwhelming experience traps them to
your brand. That’s the magic.

Humans are more emotional than logical

and rational. We think things through
most times from our emotional angle.
Tickle their emotions and watch them get
hooked to your brand. According to Shep
Hyken, “there is a big difference between
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satisfied customers and loyal customers.”

Do not settle for only satisfaction.
Overwhelming them keeps them loyal,
and keeps your brand memorable.

Keep it Affordable
Talking about keeping things affordable, I
think affordability does not mean cheap.
Everything in the market is affordable but
not to everyone in the market. Affordability
is relatively personal to the buyer. But
what I mean here by keeping it affordable
is having a brand value that matches your
price tag. When people feel you are not
worth your price, then your price sucks.
Affordability should be based on your
worth in the market place. iPhones are
relatively more expensive than most other
phones simply because of the market
worth of Apple. If Itel ever raises their
phone price to a competitive price with
that of iPhones, they may as well start
planning to leave the market.

Keep it affordable means, keep your price

at your brand value level. According to Ron
64
Johnson, “Pricing is actually pretty simple…
customers will not pay literarily a penny
more than the true value of the product”.

Customer Satisfaction
When I ask you “How are you?”, I am not
being courteous, I am really interested in
knowing how well you fare.’ My mentor
and boss told us this one afternoon after a
church service. It is very common how
people make light the very basic issue that
forms our memorable experiences in the
mind of people.

Be diligent to know the state of your

followers and the people who determine
your pay. Your customers should find you
caring for them, then, they can hear you.
John Maxwell rightly said ‘people don’t
care how much you know, until they know
how much you care.’

Caring includes making a very conducive

environment for people when they meet
you. You handle people as first, humans
that need help rather than people that
65
BYB

their finances must be exploited. The way

you talk to them, the way you take care of
the ones that look less privileged, the
entirety of your brand memory should
reflect care and love. Caring for your
customers is customer satisfaction.

The first three laws of customer

satisfaction are;

1. Customers are always right.

2. Don’t argue law number one.
3. If you think your customer is wrong,
refer to law number one.

Get this straight into your very being. Your

brand lies at the mercy of your audience.
Your customer is not just the guy who
buys from you or who hires you for a job,
your customer is anyone who determines
your pay. If he walks out you will not be
paid. Your boss in office is one, your client
is another one, and your staff is one.
Anybody who can in one way or the other
influence your pay is your ultimate
customer.

66
Apple will remain memorable and
outstanding for this single reason of item
back guarantee. Many other technology
brands should better learn. Your customer
is your number one priority to satisfy. If
they are okay, you will definitely be okay.

Communicate frequently
Distance does not kill relationships, lack of
communication does. Out of sight will
cause a tendency to be out of mind, but
frequent communications will always
rekindle the dying flame. Whichever
platform you communicate to your
audiences with, keep it frequent and
consistent.

You can as well create a regular and

consistent communication channel via
regular electronic mailing, phone calls,
instant messaging, social media platforms
and all that you can use in keeping them
in touch.

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68
 6

Reputation
What will become of your brand overtime is
the cumulative of the quality of reputation
management you put into it per time.

69
BYB

70
Reputation
Have you ever thought of what was said of
the tower of Babel 100 years after it was
built? How will the new generation that
did not know when it was built relate with
it? What part of the building will last
forever in the mind of the people?

Each time I walk round one of the towns in

Rivers State in Nigeria, called Isiokpo, at
the outskirt of Port Harcourt, I see
buildings that are more than 80 years old
and even 100 years. One thing I do not
forget so soon is the reputation the people
of old held those buildings with. Some of
the storey buildings that were built by the
Colonia masters of old that marked the
epics of all buildings in then days as they
were the best and most beautifully
designed buildings. What has become the
reputation of those buildings now? They
look so worthless that even making them
museums is not a worthwhile idea. The
fear that inhabitants will die one day
should they stay in it has rendered it totally

71
BYB

useless. Time has rendered the height of

the then civilization totally useless. That
which is lucrative and very good today has
every tendency to not always be so in the
nearest future.

What will become of your brand when the

test of time comes upon it is the
cumulative of the quality of reputation
management you put into it per time. The
Websters’ English Dictionary defines
reputation as ‘the general opinion held by
people about the merits and demerits of a
person or thing.’ Reputation management
is the ability to consistently be reckoned
with desired ideology overtime. It is the
effort you put in to make sure you
maintain a given reputation overtime. The
whole idea of branding is reputation
management. What have the people
branded you with? What your brand
becomes in 5, 10, 50, 70 years from now lies
herein.

Many things can make you effectively

manage your reputation and still remain in
business, Coca cola is a proof that one can
maintain an impeccable reputation for
72
over 100 years and still be in the market. I
will share a few insights on how to
manage your reputation.

Stick to your Message

Up in chapter three, we have elaborated
the importance of brand language.
Sticking to it consistently is a way of
creating an impeccable reputation. Either
as a person or as an organization, you have
to consistently say and be the same thing
or person over and over till it becomes
your reputation. Never shift from your
message if you must build a formidable
reputation around it. It will be out of place
if you ever hear that Lionel Messi is
becoming a rock musician or a wrestler.
Though it is possible, but it will mess up
the reputation he has built in the football
industry over the years. It will be out of
place for him to give a talk anywhere
without drawing any of his stories from his
football career.

Imagine Guinness starts selling flowers

and baking cakes. It will be the same as
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BYB

the introduction of many languages into

building tower of Babel. That brand must
fall.

Emotional Intelligence
It is not a new thing that people in one
minute destroy what they have being
building for over decades of hard work by
letting down their guard by allowing anger
control just one of their decisions.
Emotional intelligence is the inner ability
to handle your emotions with knowledge
and expertise. Truly, human beings are
more emotionally responsive than rational.
We feel things from our emotional
perspective most times before we give it
deeper thoughts to analyze our decisions
as regards the matter at hand, both
ethically, professionally, morally and, what
have you?

Your spotless personal brand can become

a mess the very moment you
unintentionally choose not to be cautious
about your sexuality. Sex life and work life
are two parallel lines, you must make sure
74
none interferes with another, unless sex
itself is your business. And if you are a
priest, worst for you. Any little shift from
the spotless personal brand the people
around you hold you with, you become an
object of ridicule. You must ensure you are
keeping your emotions in check to make
sure they do not mess up your brand. If the
angel in you must not be regarded as
monster, your emotions should be in
check all the time.

Your issues at home can arouse some

desire to take some corporate finance to
settle personal problems. If you do this,
you are messing up what you have built.

Innovation and Trends

Ten years from now, most businesses will
become totally obsolete. If you have one of
this kind and you are making money now
and enjoying good reputation, it does not
mean you will last forever. Just as those
ancient buildings in Isiokpo are to the
recent man, so will your business be in
time to come.
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BYB

You can imagine still sending letters to a

person outside your country just to hear
from him. That is so obsolete. When you
can call, or send emails and chat with
them via instant messengers or social
media. If your business is like one of the
traditional mailing systems, you must
follow the innovations and trends that
have visited your field to make sure you
are in tune with the current happenings in
your business or industry.

You must be rigid enough to stick to your

language and be flexible enough to
change approach as the technology,
innovations and trends in your area
change.

There was once a most selling mobile

phone brand in Nigeria, not until the
rigidity they had could not meet with the
innovation and follow the trend as it was
shifting from keypad phones to touch
screen phones. They were too slow to
effect the change and they saw the result.

76
 Rebrand
Brands get obsolete. When all the above is
done and you really do not get the brand
you want to get, then, rebrand. You might
be a baker and you have upgraded your
skill set and you now can cook. You want
to be known now as a chef and not just a
baker, then, rebrand. Rebranding is not
the same as going astray; it means gaining
more clarity and determining to reach out
to the horizon of your clear vision.

Rebrand. Do not let your identity be

obsolete before you do so. Rebrand when
you are larger than you used to be.
Rebrand when rebranding will be what
you need to reach the audience you want
to reach. Rebrand only when it is
necessary to keep you in business.

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BYB

78
77

Ambassador
As a brand is the premium responsibility of an
ambassador, so also is the ambassador the
premium responsibility of the brand.

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BYB

80
Ambassador
There is nothing more pleasing to me in
government than being an ambassador. If
I am to choose between being a
parliamentarian or a congressman, and
being an ambassador, I will choose being
an ambassador. This is because the
ambassador of a country is the country
itself personified. The glory of a people is
reflected in the strength and power of her
ambassador. He is the walking country. An
ambassador, though in another country,
still obeys the laws of his home country.
Wherever his embassy is, there to him is
his country. Only his country law is obeyed
there. And this is very important. They do
not create laws, but no matter where they
are, the country that employed them to
become ambassador dictates what they
do and what should be done to them
should they fail. Whatever an ambassador
declares anywhere, is accepted as the
country’s verdict over that matter. His
words are of same power with the national
agreement. He is that powerful.
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BYB

Businesses and brands have come to

adopt this system into operations. That is
having a human figure that represents
them anywhere the person is. Giving your
brand’s power to someone is one of the
most dangerous things you can do if the
person in question does not understand
the implication of what you are doing. That
person is in charge of your brand’s
reputation in the marketplace without
knowing. He has the power to say a thing,
and it will be regarded that your brand has
said so. Who then should be your number
one brand ambassador?

Who else?
If not you, who else? Who else
understands your brand more than you
do? Who else can make a concrete
decision for your brand if not you? I am not
saying there cannot be another person
who can do that but that you are just the
best person in that position until you have
grown people who are your brand loyalists
and can do exactly what you can do
82
without any flaws. Your number one brand
ambassador is yourself.

Your commitment
In an organized government system, the
ambassador is the responsibility of the
government. The government pays every
bill the ambassador has. The kid’s tuition,
car, housing, and everything the
ambassador needs. As a brand is the
premium responsibility of an ambassador,
so also is the ambassador the premium
responsibility of the brand. The welfare of
the ambassador is the responsibility of the
brand, just as the welfare of the brand
reputation is the responsibility of the
ambassador.

A brand manager must be diligent to

know the state of her ambassadors. It is
not just paying them the agreed salary or
whatever negotiation they have made.
Along the line, should something come up,
it is the job of the brand manager to see to
the continual welfare of the ambassador.

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BYB

The number one ambassador of a business

is her management body. The business
brand must consciously paint a picture
about your business with them. A picture
you want the masses to associate you with.
The number one ambassador of a religious
brand is the leadership heads. How they
look will influence the way they are
managed in the society.

84
88

A Recap

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86
A Recap
There are many things that help you build
your brand as discussed in the volume of
this book. These are key things we looked
at that you must take note of:

Clarity
Your life and business intentions must be
clear to you. Your value propositions, your
audience definition, magic words and your
competitors. You must have a clear plan in
these areas.

Identity
A clear identity of what you do and what
you want to be known for should be
possessed by you. This entails your brand
name, your brand designs and the
synesthesia your designs put in the mind
of the viewers.

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Communication
Not just what you say, but the totality of all
you do. It is that which is consistently
being projected over time. This includes
creating your brand language, forming
your brand voice, creating your brand
message, your pitch and maintaining your
consistency.

Visibility
How known are you in the market place?
We cannot patronize you if we do not
know you are in the market. Get into cold
calling and let people know you exist. We
talked about doing Open campaign,
Running Adverts, Leveraging on Social
Media, and Business Scouting.

Memorable
What makes a brand memorable? The
business pattern, brand language or visual
designs? It is not just about doing business
and winning once, but always maintaining
practical, perpetual relevance by creating

88
memorable experiences that gets the
people coming again and again. As
discussed, this experience can be caused
by giving out free stuff, giving an
experience that is greater than your
audience expectation, creating a super
overwhelming experience that is more
than just being contented, keep your
products and services affordable, place
premium on customer satisfaction and
communicate frequently.

Reputation
What kind of ideology do people associate
your brand with? What will become of
your brand when the test of time comes
upon it is the cumulative of the quality of
reputation management you put into it.
Building a lasting reputation as a person or
organization depends on many things but
these are very key amongst them. Stick to
your language, and not being wavering in
your language and communications. You
must have one thing you communicate all
the time.

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Emotional intelligence is another key

ingredient you should not joke with.
Follow innovations and trends by creating
a flexible culture that saves you from
breaking. Then, last but not the least,
rebrand when need be.

Ambassador
You are your brand’s ultimate ambassador.
Be committed to taking care of your
ambassador and play the roles of the
ambassador you are.

90
Other Book
iCapitals
Money is not all you need to set up a
successful business or a fulfilling life. If not
money, then what again? I guess iCapitals.

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92
About
The
Author
G.N Foby helps his
clients build and
communicate
profitable and
reputable brands
using a design-
centered approach.
He loves seeing
organizations and
individuals build
their brands into
becoming what
people know,
understand,
respect and can
remember.

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BYB

He is certified in Personal Brand

Development in the University of Virginia,
USA; Brand Management with London
Business School; Digital Marketing with
Google Llc, California; and Bachelor of
Science Degree in Information Technology
with Accra Institute of Technology, Accra-
Ghana.

With the deployment of this expertise, and

his simple but classy graphic designs, web
development and strategic brand advisory,
he has seen how the power of creative
designs and intentional branding practices
can transform the income, influence and
human resource in every brand he has
worked with.

He is the founder of LEAVEN Inc, a Brand

Identity, Communication, Digital Media
Marketing, and Business Reputation
Management Agency.

He is a public speaker, corporate trainer.

www.gnfoby.com

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Any Questions?
Email: foby@gnfoby.com
Visit: www.gnfoby.com

Look forward to my next book “MANAGING

YOUR BRAND EQUITY” for you that has
already started building your brand.

Yes, on social media, GN Foby is me.

Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

WhatsApp & Telegram:

+2349026248136

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