How a business helps shape its public image—ranging from printed materials and online presence down to an employee answering the phone—really narrows to one focal point, marketing and public relations leaders here say.

It's all about audience perception. Having an impact on that perception is often called brand image or branding. Ideally, there's a consistent message about corporate identity, what a business does, and the direction a company is heading to all possible audiences, starting with employees and customers, they say.

Some marketing and communication directors also point to the growing use of social media, which allows people to post instant opinion and feedback, as only elevating the need for clarity and consistency.

"It's really about capturing the minds and hearts of people," says Brad Hunter, Spokane Teachers Credit Union vice president of marketing. "It's really what people feel and think about a company, and then when they see a name or a logo, then a series of expectations or associations are formed in their minds and they can either be positive or negative, depending on the experiences they've had or haven't had."

Rick Hosmer, a principal with Spokane design firm Klundt Hosmer, says branding can be a mystery to many businesses, both large and small. More are seeking help, he adds.

"When you talk about branding, most people think about that as, 'What is our business's visual identity or logo?'" Hosmer says. "That's part of what you do to identify your brand."

He adds, "It's everything that a potential customer or consumer thinks or feels about a company or product, so the brand is in the customer's mind. There is so much that goes into that. Every way you communicate—your business card, website, brochures, trade show displays, office interior, print advertising, packaging of your product, the tone of your writing ... those are all brand touch points. You want to make sure they all say the right thing and do so consistently."

Pam Scott, director of corporate communications for Red Lion Hotels Corp., also describes an entire package, and that a company's message is turning increasingly toward dialogue.

"It's really the entire message, more driven by how your customers see you than what you're trying to communicate," Scott says. "It's really a two-way conversation now. That's why we're monitoring social media. It really allows you to understand what your customers want from you and what your customers understand about your product, so if you embrace that, it's really great."

Several others in the industry echo that it's crucial to get a pulse on what people know about a business, or even perhaps misunderstand, regarding products and services. Tools such as surveys, focus groups, and client feedback all can help, they say, and can be done at a low cost.

Andrei Mylroie, a partner in Spokane-based Desautel Hege Communications, says a business can start with informal interviews with customers, asking them what they know about the business. While a consultant can help facilitate more detailed client research, he adds that one low-cost starting point for a business can be as simple as using an online survey tool, such as SurveyMonkey.com.

"We suggest with clients that they start with research so they understand how they're perceived in the marketplace, so they can start with that. Do they need to build awareness? If they hear from a client, 'I didn't know you provided that service,' they can build on that."

STCU, for example, turned to defining its brand around 2002, starting with listening to focus groups of members and nonmembers, Hunter says. The credit union mainly relied on its internal marketing team, but it also hired an external firm, Miller.whiterunkle, now a Spokane branch of Bellevue, Wash. based Ascentium Corp.

Hunter adds that as part of understanding its branding, STCU also conducted surveys and hired a secret shopper of its services and those of other financial institutions.

"We hired someone to go in and shop other financial institutions in the region and also shop ours and help us discover, is STCU just like everything else, a vanilla experience, or is it just an errand?" he says. "We thought it could be more than that. We told them we need the good, the bad, and the ugly."

He adds, "It was enlightening for us," citing positive feedback about client relationships.

While the credit union found a loyal customer base, its branding upgrade had another hurdle in how to reach a larger audience, including into North Idaho about six years ago. That's about when the credit union decided as part of that brand focus to shorten its name to STCU on all its signs and communications, Hunter says. It required some 300 branding projects for signage, logos, internal forms, brochures, and even pens for customers.

"We wanted to celebrate our original heritage, but we also didn't want our name to be a stumbling block to people thinking they couldn't join if they weren't a teacher, so we shortened the name," he says, adding, "Once we felt we had a good handle on the essence of STCU, we set about executing that brand. Everything we communicated internally and externally, we needed to be consistent. We said, 'There is something unique about our relationship with our members,' so we made a decision to let our members tell our story."

Member stories went on TV ads, website content, and printed material beginning around 2003. "We don't script them," Hunter adds. "They are just able to be authentic and real."

STCU has gone from adding about 500 new members a month 12 years ago to its current average of about 1,400 new members a month, Hunter says.

Mylroie says another concept—one that his firm works with clients on—is elevating beyond a key message that a product or service is better to a message about how a company and its products fit into the future of an industry or community, he says.

Mylroie adds, "You want to be able to speak to the future in a more compelling way and give more context to where the organization is heading."

One Liberty Lake-based company, FHC Family Home Care & Hospice Corp., is in the midst of re-branding, says Ryan Fix, chief business officer. He started the process shortly after joining the company last summer.

"One of the first things I did was look at branding, who we are and where we are going," he says. "The brand did not tell the story of who we are."

He adds, "We're still in the throes of that whole rebrand and what it means. Being a smaller company and being watchful of the bottom line, Phase 1 was, we're going to develop the logo itself as part of the rebranding, work with a designer, and do our basic business forms, letterhead, and brochures."

Family Home Care also turned to its 450 employees who provide the company's in-home health care services. Owned and operated by Michael Nowling, former president of The Heart Institute of Spokane, the company has a staff that includes trained aides, nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, social workers, dieticians, and hospice caretakers.

"We put it to our employees and said, 'you're the front lines of who we are,'" Fix says. "We used SurveyMonkey and really pushed everything to them, and then brought everyone together in a group meeting and showed them three options, allowed them to vote and give input."

For example, the company's old logo depicted an emergency room Red Cross symbol, Fix says, probably rooted in a prior ownership through Deaconess Hospital but one that didn't fit with the company's model of home health care.

A newer logo unveiled last month shows an image of a house surrounded by four color images depicting people. The logo also ties into hospice care as well as the idea of shorter reference for the company's name, incorporating FHC, Fix says.

"For us, another key point was we were just rolling out hospice in Spokane County," he says. "You're trying to build the future of what we'll be. People will start to get used to FHC. We've outgrown the name by the services we offer. We were known for a long time as Family Home Care."

The company, which also relies heavily on TV and online videos of clients describing its services and staff, is now working on another rebranding phase that will include a website redesign. A third branding step will involve social media with the launch of a Facebook and Twitter presence, Fix says.

"We hope to be done at the end of Q2, so total it will be a nine-month process for us," he says. "It allows you to sit back and say, 'Who are we as a company and where are we going as a company and does our brand and our logo really represent that?'"

Hosmer says that while many businesses may have tight budgets these days, branding—once it's understood—is just part of what a company has to do anyway.

"You need a front office. You need a sign. You need a website. The thing that takes it from being ineffective to effective for you isn't a matter of cost; it's a matter of doing it right."

Hunter says getting it right also has to be real. "It has to be authentic. If you try to be something you're not, people can spot that a mile away."

He adds, "It's a living entity, a company's brand. You don't just discover it once and be done with it. You have to care for it ... staying in touch with your members and your marketplace."