Building awareness and trust of your brand is a lot like making friends with someone. It doesn't occur overnight. No advertising campaign, no matter how clever, can make it happen. As in friendship, you and your customers have to get to know each other, and it'll take time for your company to tell them its stories.

Implementing your brand is creating relationships with customers, and the process goes on as long as the brand exists. The brand equals your reputation and image, so everything you do -- marketing, advertising and customer interaction -- strengthens or weakens it.

These steps can help you enhance the brand:

1. Generate good publicity.
   Advertising is valuable, but generating conversations about your brand is priceless. What kind of buzz could you generate through press releases and kits for media? How much attention could your brand gain through participation in trade shows, community events and sponsorships? How would joining trade associations and networking groups get people talking about your brand? Would presentations to business and consumer groups create interest in your brand?

2. Be consistent.
   Put the brand first, and make sure that everything you do, from greeting customers to advertising products, faithfully presents the desired message. When you're considering a corporate sponsorship, a partnership, a new hire or a marketing campaign, ask yourself whether it's consistent with your brand and what effect it's likely to have. Will it clarify and strengthen your message or dilute it?

3. Deliver on the promise.
   Are all employees and consultants clear about the brand's meaning? Are their interactions with customers consistent with the brand story? Are customers satisfied? Stay in touch with your client base to make sure your brand is on target and fulfilling their expectations -- and to get early warning if the brand begins to weaken.

4. Handle problems immediately.
   It takes years to build a brand, but you can destroy one in just weeks. When customers complain or your company gets bad publicity, don't get defensive -- learn all you can about the problem, take steps to solve it, and let people know what you're doing. That's what Tylenol did.
   
   When seven people died in 1982 as a result of taking poisoned Tylenol capsules, parent company Johnson & Johnson took immediate steps to protect the public and its brand. The company recalled the product nationwide, advised customers not to use it, and reintroduced Tylenol with new tamper-resistant packaging. Today the brand is stronger and more trusted than ever.