The Importance of Good Branding for Your Business
The Importance of Good Branding for Your Business
The most powerful brands worldwide mean much more to us than simply the products or services they provide. Coca-Cola is not just any soft drink, Apple is far more than the devices it sells, and Amazon is more than a simple warehouse delivering us handy little packages on a weekly, ahem, we mean a ‘regular’ basis.
We’re going to cover what a brand is, what branding does, and why it’s not only important but truly essential to invest in good branding for your business. In later articles, we’ll provide you with some easy steps that you can take to create your brand and finally end with branding tips that you can employ to make your business stand out in a saturated market.
So, what exactly is a brand?
A brand is the combined assets that distinguish a product, service, individual, or company from its competition. A brand is more than just a name, tagline, symbol, or logo. A brand is the feeling that these combined assets evoke in their employees, investors, and most importantly, in their customers.
Take any brand. Let’s say Apple, which is the World’s most valuable brand according to Forbes, and is closely followed by Google, Microsoft, and Amazon.
What is Apple? It’s not just computers and phones, or their admittedly cool advertising. It’s not even the immediately recognizable Apple logo or name.
Apple isn’t just one ‘thing’. The Apple brand lives in people’s minds and the minds of everyone who experiences, or hopes to experience, this brand.
Brands are all about perceptions.
We make purchasing decisions based on our perceptions of what we hope to experience from interacting with a specific brand.
The most powerful brands worldwide are masters of cultivating their brands to shape our perceptions and encourage us to buy into the lifestyles they offer.
From the language used to create a brand’s unique Twitter voice, the colours used in their latest Instagram ad, to their packaging and their response to the latest trends, the most identifiable brands know that they need to be everywhere to bring in new customers and to keep their fans loyal.
It’s only by understanding the value of brands and the importance of investing in branding that you can use these powerful tools to grow your business beyond simply being just another product or service on the market, to one that is recognizable, preferred, and sought out.
What is the importance of branding to my business?
Branding is arguably one of the most important assets to any business. It’s the marketing practice of creating a name that is easily distinguishable from other available brands.
The process of branding (and even creating a simple branding rfp) involves in-depth research, development, and successful application of all the elements you want your company brand to embody, and the consistent feelings and perceptions you hope that people will associate with your products or services.
A lot of factors work towards giving a brand a unique identity. These include its:
· Name
· Logo
· Consistent design, voice, and personality across all its marketing and advertising channels
And also:
· The customer service it provides
· The way it treats its employees
· The values and ethics it embodies
· The trust it engenders, and
· The reputation it cultivates.
Branding done right signals to people what they can expect from interacting with your company. It lets people know what distinguishes your products or services from your competition, and why they should choose you as a preferred provider.
Why should I invest in Branding?
Considering all the benefits of branding to any business that we’ve just identified, the reluctancy of some companies to invest in this vital tool is surprising. Many CEOs mistakenly regard branding as just another expense to add to their rising marketing budgets.
But when you understand the true value of branding for your business, and how essential it is to influencing consumer behaviour, you will realize the need to invest in this long-term strategy that has the potential to produce high yields for your company.
Let’s take a look at some of the top returns you can expect when you invest in branding for your business.
Attract (and Keep!) Your Ideal Customers
Branding is what gives your company a memorable identity beyond the products or services you provide. It helps your customers to relate to your company, connect with your brand, distinguish it from your competition, and choose you in a crowded market.
Branding is a key deciding factor for consumers when making a purchasing decision. Users that feel a connection to a particular brand can be willing to spend twice as much money on that company’s product or service.
The process of building a brand requires acute insight into your customer base that will help inform all aspects of your business beyond your marketing and advertising.
Being able to attract your ideal customers means they will not only be more likely to buy from your brand, but they will also be more likely to remain loyal to it.
Supporting Your Marketing and Advertising Efforts
Branding helps provide a springboard for all your promotional activities, from a solid base of recognition and trust.
When you have a consistent and well-defined brand, your advertising efforts have a cohesive base to work from. When you already have your brand’s vision, value, voice, and personality mapped out, it is easy to create targeted and relevant marketing campaigns – saving you both time and money.
Creating Pride in the Workplace
Branding your company well also helps you attract the best talent and retain employees that are proud to work for your company and are loyal to your brand.
Command a Higher Price
People don’t buy products. They buy brands.
And they are more willing to pay a higher price for brands that they perceive to be superior.
Recognizable and trusted brands are easier to sell. When the value of a specific company is already established in your industry, your sales team already has a head start in the marketplace.
Effective branding solidifies your worth, establishes your value in the market, and allows you to command higher prices than your competition.
By boosting the value of your business, your investment in branding will pay for itself at the negotiating table if you ever choose to sell your business.
The Takeaway
Building a strong brand improves your chances of attracting the ideal customers that will choose you over your competitors, at a lower cost per acquisition, and are willing to pay more and buy more often.
“Branding is a disciplined process used to build awareness and extend customer loyalty. It requires a mandate from the top and readiness to invest in the future. Branding is about seizing every opportunity to express why people should choose one brand over another. A desire to lead, outpace the competition, and give employees the best tools to reach customers are the reasons why companies leverage branding.”
Alina Wheeler, Designing Brand Identity
When people invest in a brand, they are starting a relationship that, with care, can last a lifetime.
Like many aspects of marketing, it isn’t always easy to calculate the exact ROI of branding. But we would argue that managing to develop a truly authentic and successful brand is priceless.
For help with creating, developing, and managing a successful brand for your business, get in touch with our experienced team of EWM Swiss experts today. Stay tuned for easy steps you can take to create your brand and branding tips to help your business stand out from your competition.