*OPINION* Stand out. Stand for something.

In today's world, where there’s a myriad of options for almost any product or service you care to mention, it’s more important than ever for organisations to present a brand image that’s easy to understand if they want to achieve stand-out.

But before we can hope to stand out, we need to stand for something.

Having a simple, powerful set of values and standards that define what we do are essential tools for success. It’s my firm belief that any organisation or individual should be constantly asking itself a simple question — ‘why do this?’.

Why does any organisation exist? What motivates business owners to stay on track? What’s the manifesto that staff can believe in day-to-day? These vital reference points are often clouded in the drive for growth, profit and perceived success. Keeping those reasons for being front-and-centre, for all to see, is what effective branding does.

But a clearly defined brand can also help an organisation to grow.

No matter what goals are set for growth, having consistency and momentum in a clear direction helps create an essential point of difference. Often the decisive factor in making one product or service more appealing than another seemingly identical one.

If you’ve been owning or running an organisation for a while, sometimes the path to a clear and consistent brand voice can seem anything but simple.

You need to strip away all the bullshit excuses and find that simple thought that will put ‘why you do it’ at the core of everything you do.