Why is Branding Important?

What is branding?

Aside from your logo and colours, this is the statement that sums up your entire company - what it is that you do, and what it is like to work with you. It sets you apart from your competitors and sparks a connection with your audience.

It is a basic but important part of business, but some companies are unable to interestingly tell you what it is they do or where they've come from.

There is a lot of competition nowadays, especially with the likes of social media which causes consumers to be exposed to new brands everyday. Therefore, it is important to stand out from the crowd.

What are the advantages of branding?

Customer Loyalty

Good branding builds customer recognition and loyalty. A relatable brand that shares similar values to their customers will have built an emotional connection. This also attracts your ideal client as you share the same values.

Credibility

Established and clear brands looks professional, which will encourage people to buy from you as they trust your business. High quality, consistent branding comes from expert, credible brands. Poorly branded businesses, such as a poor, inconsistent website, will discourage anyone from trusting and making a purchase.

Consistency

No longer question colours, fonts, or design of your content as your branding style will have already set this out for you, as you can use your branding style as a guide. This will save essential time for more important tasks.

Business Confidence

Solid branding will make you feel proud to market your business. Customers will see yourself trusting the business and are therefore more likely to do the same. This will also increase your business recognition due to being proud and sharing it with more people.

Benefits Employees

Create a sense of unity and make your employees feel like they are actively contributing to the business. Branding allows for motivational aspects, such as merchandise. Employees will stand behind the strong branding and will have more pride in their work. To be working for a company with an excellent reputation will be fulfilling.

Stand out from the Crowd

There are so many businesses around it can be hard for a customer to know who to buy from first. This makes building trust and loyalty incredibly important. It is important to have a high quality logo which resonates with your target audience, fits into a branding strategy and informs them customers about your values. There may be many other competitors in your market, but your logo and branding will be what sets you apart from them.

How do I Brand my Business Correctly?

Understanding the advantages of branding, the question now is how to brand your business correctly and effectively. It may be hard to know where to start, but here are a few tips:

• Research your Target Audience and Competitors

Who are your potential customers? Consider factors such as age, gender, location, career, etc. You can also utilise the internet by doing a Google search for your product/service to analyse your competitors - what are they doing, and who is their target audience? Once you know your target audience and competitors, have a look at their social media accounts and talk to your target audience and ask which brands they would buy from.

• Positioning Statement

This isn't something which you need to put on your website or business cards, but it helps you to identify and answer the questions about your brand, and helps to create your tagline. "We offer (PRODUCT) to (TARGET AUDIENCE) for (VALUE)

• Company Name

The name of your business is the most important but one of the first things which you decide. It will be what customers will say and know you as and needs to stick in their minds. The name will impact your logo, website, merchandise and more. It is beneficial to have a name which is not similar, or can easily be copied by competitors - it needs to stand out.

• Create a Slogan

Brief and descriptive, this can be used across anywhere from your website, to business cards and media content you create. For example, our slogan at THEDIRECTORSCHOICE.COM is "Search, compare, choose." Three words which describe us - a comparison site. A slogan can always be changed, and big companies have been known to change theirs plenty of times. Slogans can rhyme, be a metaphor, state a fact/claim, or simply describe your business.

• Appearance of your Brand (e.g. colours)

The fun part of branding, choosing how your company appears. Which colour are people going to associate with your business? Which font? Pick carefully, as psychology says that people sub-consciously associate colours with moods and feelings. For example, green represents health, peacefulness, or eco. Decide how you would like to make your customers feel, and consider going from there.

• Logo Design

Your logo is what customers will associate with you, and you goal should be for people to recognise it from a glance, for example a yellow 'M' will instantly be recognised as McDonalds. It is important to remember that your logo will be used across everything - websites and social media platforms, your logo needs to be recognisable even at smaller sizes. Choose from icons, avatars, abstract, emblems, lettering/wordmark or a combination.

• Spread your Brand Across your Business

Create a brand story - online shoppers look at a company's mission/purpose to see if they have relatable values to themselves, which will increase trust and loyalty. Values to consider could be sustainable, or working with a particular charity, such as water aid.

• Evolve

Remember that businesses are always evolving, including your own. As you interact and gain more customers, you will learn more about your business and how people respond to it. If your business needs to update due to this (e.g. your website needs to change) then do as your business requires.

Do you Need Help with your Branding?

You will never have complete control on how people perceive your brand, as every customer is a different person. Ensuring that you are resonating with the right audience, and are ticking all of the boxes is the most that your business can do.

Marketing agencies can assist your business with branding. We have various providers which can be tailored to your specific needs and are reviewed by other business owners like you. Find marketing agencies for your business on our platform.