Thinking a lot about brands and reputations this past weekend – building them and keeping them.

One thing I’ve had difficulty explaining to some business and university executives through the years is that their organizations have a brand.

In most cases (unless it’s a brand-new company), “branding” really means trying to impact the picture people already have in their minds. If the organization is not well known, it’s trying to create a powerful, memorable first-impression that sticks around – and then maintaining that positive image over time.

The most basic way to think about a brand is the sum total of all the experiences a person has with your company or organization. All these experiences create an image, or a brand, in people’s minds.

This picture can change over time – if you give them great service, if you fail them and don’t fix it, if you don’t meet their expectations, if you lie, if you wow them…. Every time they experience your organization in your brochures, in person, on your website, through your sales force, over the phone, through the mail, in ads, in a magazine, on TV – every touch with your company affects your brand.

Your “brand” is not your logo. Your brand can be lessened by a bad logo or improved with a truly great one used consistently, but just having a logo doesn’t give you a brand.

You can impact your brand through a well-crafted, on-point communication program implemented internally and externally. But the best communication program in the world can be completely undermined by the behavior of your employees, off-hand comments by your executives, the tone of voice of your receptionist, the quality of your products or inconsistency in your service.

So design a great logo and use it consistently. Develop a great internal and external communication program, based on who you are and what you do well.

Then every day, exceed your customers’, students’ or clients’ expectations.