Is Branding Important for your Business?
DALL-E x Mapa “Oil Painting by Matisse of a human heart filled with fire”
A question we hear from entrepreneurs in all industries. So, let’s answer it once and for all:
Branding is one of the most important aspects of any business.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a “solopreneur” or if you have hundreds of employees and run a multi-million, international corporation.
In this article, we’ll go through what branding is all about, and why it matters for your business - regardless of your industry, size, or years of operation.
So, what is branding?
Let’s go back one step. What is a Brand? There are different definitions, such as:
“A person's gut feeling about a product, service, or organization” —Marty Neumeier
“Your brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room” —Jeff Bezos.
As you can see, the brand itself is not really something you see or hear. That “gut feeling” can be different from one person to another, but it is always related to who your company is and what it offers.
So, when we talk about branding, we’re talking about the process of designing what we want our audience’s “gut feeling” to be.
Of course, we can’t go into our customer’s minds and decide what they will think or feel about us. But we can do our best to communicate in a way that steers our audience’s mind to certain thoughts, emotions and attitudes with every interaction they have with our brand.
By “branding” your business…
You’re creating a unique identity for your company, products or services.
You’re defining a spot on your customer’s minds and hearts, which is different from the competition.
You’re creating assets that are purposeful in what they communicate to cause the desired “gut feeling” in your customers.
A strong brand can help businesses to connect with customers on an emotional level, and create loyalty that can lead to increased profits.
As you can imagine, connecting with customers and creating loyalty is key for any business to stay in business. So, branding is essential for all companies, no matter what size or industry.
Why is branding so important?
There are several reasons why branding is so important.
First, it allows businesses to differentiate themselves from their competitors. A strong brand identity can help businesses to stand out in a crowded market and attract new customers.
Second, branding helps businesses to build trust with customers. When customers are familiar with a company's branding, they are more likely to trust its products and services.
Finally, branding can help businesses to create an emotional connection with customers. Strong brands evoke positive feelings in customers, which can lead to increased loyalty and profits.
How to create a strong brand identity
Creating a strong brand identity is not easy, but it is worth the effort. There are several things you can do to create a powerful brand:
1. Branding should be planned and purposeful.
This is why we always recommend to start any branding project with Brand Strategy. It helps you gain clarity of your brand’s personality, tone of voice, and message, and allows you to understand your customers better, so that everything you put out there is directed towards your target audience.
2. Make sure that the branding accurately reflects the company's values and mission.
Another key reason to start with Brand Strategy is that it helps you identify your brand’s core values, beliefs, attitudes, and purpose of existing. Being clear on these issues will help you communicate clearly and concisely at all times. This is important because the branding should be simple and easy to remember, and it should be easy to understand what the company stands for.
3. Your brand’s visuals, voice, and message should be consistent everywhere. Always.
This means that the way the brand talks should always be similar. The key message should be repeated consistently. Your visuals, such as your colours, typography, logo, and style guide should be used in the same way across all media.
4. Your brand should have a strong presence in whichever media is most appropriate.
The key to achieve this is to identify where your ideal audience is congregating online. Do they prefer to hang out on facebook groups? Instagram? Blogs? Don’t be fooled by what everyone else is doing. It doesn’t matter if your competiors have thousands of followers on Instagram if the ideal audience hangs out on LinkedIn. Find out where they are spending their time, and concentrate all your efforts to create a strong presence there. Just there.
5. Make sure your brand is always aligned.
Brand Alignment is the key of authentic brands. It means you understand that your product, service, brand and experience are all in sync with each other. Having a mis-alignment in any of these areas will make your audience feel like something is off, and can lead to mistrust. Alignment helps you ensure that the branding is effective and it resonates with your customers.
Creating a strong brand identity takes time and effort, but it is worth it in the end. A well-branded company can connect with customers on an emotional level, and create loyalty that leads to increased profits.
Psst… We know branding can be hard. That’s why we help you from A to Z. Our services include:
Brand Strategy
Brand Alignment
Visual Identity Design
Websites & Shops
So if you ever feel like focusing on your product, and trusting your branding to experts, we’re only one click away :)
The benefits of good branding
The benefits of good branding are numerous.
First, branding can help businesses to stand out from their competitors. A strong brand identity can help businesses to attract new customers and differentiate themselves from their competitors.
Second, branding helps businesses to build trust with customers. When customers are familiar with a company's branding, they are more likely to trust its products and services.
Finally, branding can help businesses to create an emotional connection with customers. Strong brands evoke positive feelings in customers, which can lead to increased loyalty and profits.
In addition, branding can also help businesses to improve their image and reputation. A strong brand can help businesses to connect with customers on an emotional level, and create loyalty that leads to increased profits.
TL;DR
Branding is essential for every business, no matter what size or industry.
A well-branded company can connect with customers on an emotional level, and create loyalty that leads to increased profits.
In addition, branding can also help businesses to improve their image and reputation.
Creating a strong brand identity takes time and effort, but it is worth it in the end. Here are some tips for getting started:
Start with brand strategy, so that everything your brand communicates is planned and purposeful
Make sure that the branding reflects authentic values and mission
Your brand’s visuals (how you look), message (what you say), and voice (how you say it), should be consistent. Always.
Don’t waste your efforts: Find out where your ideal audience congregates, and focus 100% of your efforts there, and only there.
Make sure your product, service, brand and experience are always aligned.
By following these tips, you can create an effective and resonating brand identity for your business.
Oh, and… if you’d like an expert’s hand to create your brand strategy or visual identity, we’re just one click away ;)
Toodles,
Mapa
