By Rosa Zeegers, Fractional Chief Brand Officer Over my 3 decades of stewardship for some of the most iconic brands in the world, I have dealt with diverse levels of understanding and acceptance within the respective organizations regarding my conviction that the brand is the main engine to drive business’ growth. This journey led me to develop models and concepts to educate my colleagues and stakeholders, and to inspire and lead them into not only embracing this view, but successfully executing these models and concepts as the cornerstone of the business’ Brand Driven Growth Strategies. Now that I have exchanged my C-suite leadership role for a CEO advisory role, I have condensed these models and concepts into what I call the “10 Principles for an Effective Brand Driven Growth Strategy”: Know Your Brand Manage Your Brand It All Starts with the Customer Understand Your Competition, Now and in the Future Understand Your Own Core Capabilities Establish a Clear, Memorable Brand Promise Don’t Miss a Single Contact Moment Consistent Execution Defines a Brand 50% of Marketing is Internal Marketing Constantly Monitor Your Brand’s Effectiveness   1. Know Your Brand Be clear about the Definition, the Role, and the Importance of your Brand. The Definition of a Brand Many people think your Brand is your name, your logo, or perhaps some combination of the name and logo. Nothing is further from the truth. As Shopify points out in their blog: “How to Build a Brand in 7 Steps”: Your brand is how people perceive you wherever they interact with your business – both the impressions you can control and the ones you can’t. My own definition is very aligned with this: A brand is the perception a (potential) customer has of your product/service. That perception is derived from the sum-total of all the experiences they have with your product or service. The Role a Brand Because it is all about the perception your customers and prospects have of you and your product/service, your brand is