• Be certain that the ad agency realizes that advertising is only a small portion of marketing. The agency must demonstrate that it knows there are many other marketing weapons and that it is capable of using (or directing the use of) all the appropriate ones in your potential marketing arsenal. Guerrilla businesses deserve guerrilla advertising agencies. Don't settle for less.
• Ascertain that your account will be considered special and deserving of the agency's top talent. Be sure that you meet and talk to the people who will actually be doing your advertising - creative, media, research, the whole works. See what else the creative people have created. Ask about the results. Avoid agency figureheads and get to know the troops who will be serving on your front line. Is the chemistry right between you? Don't underestimate the immense power of good chemistry.
• Be sure that your agency understands your company's objectives and considers them reasonable. This understanding will be reflected in the marketing and advertising strategy that the agency creates for you. If it's missing, look elsewhere.
• Check to see that the people who will be working on your account have the right credentials, experience, and attitude. See if they are good listeners. If they haven't worked on a business just like yours, don't worry. Just make sure that they understand the critical relationship between profitability and creativity. If it doesn't help you earn profits, it's not creative.
• Be positive that the people you will work with have a knowledge of your business, an interest in your business, and a knowledge of the competitive situation. If they've done their homework by the time they present to you, they'll have these things. If not, you're not interested.
• Look at the ads and other marketing materials they have created: theme lines, logos, signs, telemarketing scripts, brochures, videos, catalogs, newsletters, Web sites, direct mail letters, postcards, posters, and even postcard mailers.
• The best advertising agencies have grown from the growth of their clients and those clients' ever-increasing marketing investments. That is a better benchmark than growth coming from new clients. Such agencies are hard to find. But the search will be worth your time.

• Branding creates Awareness leading to Extensive Market Reach The brand Fab India is the best example of increasing marketability by branding khadi and handloom materials throughout the country and worldwide too.

• Shoppers choose brands that provide Value for Money The Big Bazaar chain of supermarkets is an ideal illustration of how a brand can appeal to the masses by giving them real value for every single penny.

• Brands give individuals the feeling of belonging to a Niche Segment The aura of owning a BMW, Baume and Mercier or Harry Winston is so strong simply because these brands put the shopper right in the middle of the elite and up-market section of society.

• Brands simply build your Personality Wearing Hugo Boss suits and shoes from Bally, carrying Louis Vuitton cases and collecting jewellery from Tiffany's are all instant personality boosters. Even a simple Louis Vuitton wallet would give the consumer a confidence boost like nothing else.

The good news is that you can start improving your brand image immediately. These tips can go a long way towards getting your image where you want it to be. And none of them are particularly difficult or expensive; in fact some don't cost anything at all.

Your Voice
Who Are You? To successfully manage your brand message, you have to figure out who you are. And this really needs to come from who you are, not who you hope to be or wish you were. Honda is not Mercedes. oxfam is not Fab India. Sony is not Samsung. They don’t try to be. The best positioning carves out their niche very specifically. Be true to whom you decide you are, and you will then make communicating that much easier.

Pick a color, any color.
Quick, what color are Coca Cola trucks? How about Mountain Dew cans? Picking a company color can help you establish your brand even stronger than your logo might. When your company’s packaging, delivery trucks, envelopes or postcards all have a consistent dominant color, it makes it easier for your consumers to notice you.

Rome wasn't built in a day. Neither was Coke.
We’ve seen too many clients tire of an ad campaign way before their customers have. They’ve seen all the ideas, approved all the ads, and lived with them for months. And are ready for something new. Resist the urge. Chances are your customers haven’t seen them as much as you have. Pulling them before their time will cost you money at least, and maybe more customers. Consistency and repetition are the hallmarks of a successful branding campaign. Find the right message and keep it out there as much as you can.

Ads are a good vehicle, but not the only car on the road.
If you’ve got a large ad budget, good for you, you should be able to build your brand presence faster. If you don’t: you can start spreading the word cheaply. Call your local paper’s business editor with story ideas about you or your industry. Send press releases to all interested publications you can think of every time something noteworthy happens. Put signs up in your window promoting a new offer. Sponsor or plan activities by evolving community on weekends put a canopy at crowded market place. There are lots of ways to start making those personal connections depending on your brand or market needs. Utilize them.

Outrageous is good. Dull works too.
There is no correct formula. Find the voice you are comfortable with and stick with it. You don't have to be flashy. Some of the most compelling advertising in the last 20 years came out of an insurance company , LIC. Again, it gets back to the question: What’s your voice? A valuable brand can come from a very conservative positioning, just as much as an off-the-wall one. Just find the right fit for you and maximize it.

Branding isn’t just for big business, but it will take some thinking on your part., and a good amount of effort as well. But as soon as you get these steps in place, you’ll begin to see that your branding will help you build your business without even thinking about it.