WHY BRANDING MATTERS

Posted on May 11, 2017 by Chris Costello, One of Thousands of Business Coaches on Noomii.

Branding has become one of the biggest buzz words of the modern business world. It tells the public the most important aspects of a business. No matter how large or small your operation, your brand is your promise to the customer. Having an effective branding strategy can give you an edge over the competition and help your business stand out. Alternatively, a weak branding strategy can hamper an otherwise successful business.

To create an effective brand for your business, you need to consider public perception. It must be attractive to your target market. In addition, it needs to be so clear that customers will immediately associate your business with its brand identity. This seems fairly simple on the surface, but is incredibly important to get right. You have to choose carefully, because you can’t be all things to all people. That’s why it’s key to identify who your target customer is or will be.

It’s vital to brand your business in a way that connects to the needs and wants of your target market. If you’re trying to sell ice cream, you can’t simply brand yourself as an ice cream company. You need to be specific enough to define what is unique about your offering. Maybe your business only uses local, organic ingredients? Perhaps you’re looking to serve the high-end market segment? Maybe some of the flavors of ice cream you’re selling are unique and offer social currency? These are the type of details you want to package into your branding strategy.

The clearer the public perceives your brand, the greater likelihood that you’ll be able to connect to your customer base. It all starts with your business name and logo. You will want to spend some time properly vetting these two things to get a sense of how others interpret your brand. Often, your own personal bias may block you from getting a true sense of how your business communicates its brand. In addition, your website, packaging and marketing materials (which should utilize your logo) will further support the branding strategy.

To define your brand, you will need to answer several key questions. Do you know your company’s mission? What are the benefits and/or features that you offer? What do your customers (or prospective customers) already think of your company? Perhaps most importantly, what qualities do you want your target market to associate with your brand?

Obtaining the answers to the above questions will require some deep thinking and a bit of research. You actually need to know what your current or prospective customers are thinking. Read as much as you can to gauge the mindset of your target market. Talk to as many people as you can and maybe come up with a survey to get more data. Surveying has greatly evolved and many online businesses have flourished by implementing advanced survey funnels (read Ask Method by Ryan Levesque). With the information gleaned from the surveys, companies can shape themselves and their branding as needed to capture a specific target market.

Another effective way to ascertain how to best define your brand is by enlisting the help of a professional business coach or consultant. By working together, you can get a sharper sense of what your branding should communicate. Since a coach/consultant has no personal ties to you, they will be much more likely to offer unbiased feedback than your family or friends.

Once you have a defined brand in mind, it’s time to package and share your branding message. Write down the main points of your message so that every employee (or future employee) will be aware of your brand attributes. Make sure your logo is really dialed in. You don’t have to be a graphic designer, but you may want to hire one. You can also visit a site like 99designs.com where numerous designers compete online to come up with a logo you’re happy with. They charge $299 and it’s well worth it to have an improved, well-branded logo.

How you integrate your brand extends to every aspect of your business. All the little details become opportunities for you to imbed your messaging. You can do this in simple ways, like how you answer the phone, employee dress codes, your email signature or even the way you name your products or services. A tagline is a great way to create a memorable and concise statement to capture the essence of your brand. I’m sure you can think of many major advertising taglines in use today. Ask yourself what that company is really trying to say about their brand.

Make sure you are true to your brand. If you can’t deliver on your brand promise, customers will notice and you’ll lose business. United Airline’s “Fly The Friendly Skies” seems like a stretch given recent events. They might be ready for some rebranding efforts. Your brand needs to be something you can actually execute for the price you’re charging. If you’re the lower priced option, but brand yourself as the best version of something, your customers may become skeptical. Price perceived value is definitely a factor in how people view brands. That’s why it’s important to be consistent with your branding message. The only exception here is rebranding. In that scenario, you are trying to replace the previous brand with something more effective or in line with changing trends.

A strong brand can really help your bottom line. Having an established brand means your business has greater equity value. This allows you to charge more for your product or service and enjoy a competitive advantage over similar, unbranded competitors. Your brand equity creates consumer confidence that can influence the perceived quality or emotional attachment of what you offer. In effect, you’ll be selling more than simply a product or service…you will be selling the intrinsic brand value as well.