Your brand can make magic, if you believe.

Brand is the differentiator in the marketplace of one product or service over another. It begins with the design, name and colors, but extends as far as multimedia, the way customer service interacts with patrons and the marketing messages you use.

Your relationship with the marketplace and your internal team accompanied by the understanding of how your product or service is utilized creates the core of your brand. In a perfect world, the perception of your brand will ingratiate itself with the consumer because it aligns with their beliefs and concerns.

Take, for example, Disney. Their core purpose is to create happiness. Reinforcement and clear communication through their well developed internal “Disney Institute” create an intentional culture where every decision is rooted in that belief. Patrons feel this as the “Magic of Disney” is brought to life across channels, touchpoints and experiences.

Developing a concept, planning for and managing execution doesn’t just happen. The act of creating a brand establishes the fundamental principles, aligns stakeholders and points an organization in a single, unified direction.

Each step in the process is aimed at creating elements that evoke feelings and actions from your consumer that align with your mission and purpose.

The purpose is forever — It’s the aspirational reason why your company exists. It lives beyond financial goals and doesn’t include any methods, means, or specific approaches or executions.

The values are current — Core values describe what you believe and how you behave. They’re a brand’s standards of conduct even (and especially) when things get difficult.

The mission brings purpose into focus — Your mission statement describes exactly how you’ve put your purpose into action, along with who benefits from your work. It outlines your actions in simple, clear language that’s specific to your brand.

The vision is the envisioned future — It’s a description of what the world could be like if you achieve everything you set out to do. It speaks to the impact you’ll make in the lives of your customers, not just the future state of your own company.

Once you’ve gone through the process to create and share the plan, you need to utilize it to guide your business.

Each of these elements should be utilized to create brand guidelines. This document and these principles is where you will establish the tone, personality and voice behind your brand, in addition to the visual representation of the business.

The brand guideline will act as a rulebook for all those that need to create content for the business, from HR to outside vendors. It’s the fundamental document that will allow your business to scale and remain consistent internally and in the marketplace.