January 22, 2021
What Is Branding?
Branding is much bigger than a logo, a name, and colors. Branding is an identity.
Branding results in how a consumer experiences your product or services.
You are a brand. Your business is a brand. Did you consciously create them?
Later in this article we will provide specific steps to how to do this.
As Steve Forbes famously said, “Your brand is the single most important investment you can make in your business”. There are personal brands and there are business brands. Here we are discussing business brands and later on we will discuss how you go about building your brand.
The list of elements included in building a brand goes on forever. The way your company feels on and offline is part of this. Having consumers recognize your brand is what sets you apart from your competition. That is very powerful which is why it is so important.
People buy from brands whose values align with their own and this is why it is important to SHOW these through your offerings and at all points during your customers’ sales cycle.
As a marketing company, we get to handle lots of different brands. Now, some of these have not been consciously created and others have. We know that marketing can get your clients in front of your brand, and good branding is what keeps them there.
The Power of Branding
When building a brand, it is hard to not mention Apple, so let’s not fail to do that. Apple’s products are indeed very good products. Some would argue that they are the best out there and others would say they are not. This is not the place that we want to discuss the technical differences between the products.
Recognizing that Apple can charge more, and consumers will pay more is a powerful outcome of Apple’s branding.
That is not how it always was…
Apple started out with higher prices for their personal computers than most of its competition. At the time computers were getting cheaper and faster. Consumers did not need to pay more.
Apple brought Steve Jobs back. Steve invested in BRANDING and launched his “PC vs Mac” campaign. This didn’t make the computers any cheaper (Apple actually raised its price) but it made more people want Apple.
They wanted to be part of that brand. Apple resonated better with consumers. This was the difference.
An integral part of branding is defining your values, your differentiators, and your core belief systems.
During our branding workshops, we go through many different questions and exercises.
Some of them include:
- Who is your target audience?
- What message do you want to get across to each audience?
- What drives your staff?
- What value do you bring to your clients?
- What is your mission?
- What is your vision?
- How do you look and sound?
- What tone words do you want associated with your brand?
- What is your visual identity like?
- What type of photography style is best for your brand?
- What is your brand story?
- Who did you create this business for?
- What is your unique selling proposition?
After developing answers to these questions, you can then make these visible to your customers in all elements of your business. This would include how people answer the phone all the way to how the bathroom is designed inside your office.
It includes how your product feels, how their experience with your service makes others feel, and much more.
If you can position your brand correctly, customers will pay more. If all other things are equal, this means your profits go up. If you have any questions on branding or want us to evaluate your brand identity, give us a call today or fill out our contact form.
For more information on branding your business, please contact us today!