What is branding and why is it important?
What is branding?
Branding is a process. In fact, I would go so far as to say that you are always defining and establishing your brand even after you have purchased a branding package. Branding is more than colors and a logo; branding is a way to communicate who you are as a business. Branding is made up of identity, values, customer relationships, and place.
Identity
Your brand identity encompasses designs that may include logos, colors, textures, photos, and more. Think of your brand identity as the visual expression of your business. Before they meet you, they see you. Brand identity is important because it’s usually the way you make your first impression with a potential client.
Values
Brand values reach a little deeper than the visual. Values describe what is important to your business. Values are usually made of a few key words that are a priority to your business. For example, some brand values may include words like transparency, trust, quality, loyalty and leadership. After choosing key words that describe your values, it’s best to describe why they are important to your business.
Beliefs
I’ve heard a lot of people say things like, “Don’t mix politics with business.” Or “Let’s keep your personal beliefs to yourself.” I disagree completely with this sentiment because you will attract the right client for your business based on shared beliefs. If a client sees what you believe and aligns with it, they are much more likely to pursue doing business with you. You may think that you are ostracizing people when you do this, and that’s absolutely true!! But no business on the planet was meant to serve everyone. And while some people won’t be attracted to your business because of your beliefs, there will be others who will absolutely love your business because of your beliefs.
Culture
The brand culture is what your business is like on a personal level. How do your employees interact with each other? What do people say about the leadership when they aren’t around? Brand culture is important because it shares the story of your business. The story of your business has a way of shaping the culture of your business. How did you get started? What were the struggles you faced? How do you treat the people who work for you? All of these answers will help to define your brand’s culture. If your brand culture is dysfunctional, then the customer impact will also suffer.
Customer Relationships
Customer relationships are built over time. You as a business owner, take the client on a journey. The journey your client experiences when they purchase your service/product can be the megaphone that shouts your worth. The journey begins before a contract or a purchase is made all the way to the final purchase. Each aspect of your client’s journey needs to be refined with a clear objective. This shows the client that they matter; people are more important that the bottom line. In this journey with the client, you begin to build a real relationship with them. Real relationships with present clients opens opportunities to have relationships with future clients. Customers will remember how you made them feel. They will remember that you made them feel like they mattered.
Place
Where you fit among your competitors educates your potential clients. Think of this as a place they can compare and contrast your business with other businesses. Communicating your place among your competition shows how you are different from them. Generally, the differences are usually the reason why a potential client does business with you and not your competitor.
Why is branding important?
Now you know what branding is, but why is it important? What do you get if you choose to brand your business? Branding is important because it gives you a competitive advantage, recognition, customer loyalty, consistent marketing, and a higher perceived value.
Competitive Advantage
Branding makes you stand out. Think of all the brands you love. Now consider their competitors. Why do you choose the brand you love over their competition? Simple answer: Branding. They have set themselves apart from their competitors, and that difference makes them more attractive to potential clients. When you brand your business, you set yourself apart with a competitive advantage.
Recognition
In a room full of strangers, you are most likely to sit next to the person who looks familiar. Maybe you see them everyday in the hall, or maybe you recognize them from an event you attended-either way, the recognition is what drew you to them. Branding works the same way. Branding is the key to making sure your potential client recognizes you. In a list of unknown businesses on Google, you are familiar because of branding. That familiarity is what makes a potential client an actual client.
Customer Loyalty
Earlier, we discussed brand values and beliefs. We also mentioned the importance of building a relationship with your client through the client experience. The values and the experience build an emotional connection with your client. Clients who experience a positive emotional connection with you will recommend you to their friends and family. You gave them the best you have and now they want to give you the best they have. When done correctly, branding gives you loyal customers.
Marketing
Having a brand gives you more of an impact on potential clients. It also helps you remain consistent in how you market your business to the public. In education, teachers have a motto that says, “Repetition is the key to learning.” From a marketing perspective, you could say something like this: “Excellent branding with excellent marketing leads to new clients.” On average, it takes a consumer about 7 interactions with your brand before they take any sort of action. Branding ensures that the marketing (those seven interactions) is consistent and has an impact.
Higher Perceived Value
When a company looks nice, it looks expensive. When it looks expensive, people believe it has value. The value that people place on a certain product or experience determines what they will spend on that product. The client decides if it’s worth the money; it’s your job to show them it is. You show them it is through your branding. Branding makes your business look expensive. It’s neat. The colors are clear. It communicates who you are and what you are about. It draws people in. Branding is the first impression-and you want that first impression to be, “Wow, this looks expensive. It looks really nice!”
Conclusion
We’ve defined what branding is and we’ve also listed why branding is important. Here at 120 Web Design, we recommend you have a branding package before designing a website. Branding and web design are both important, but the website will have more of an impact with your branding done first. We offer different branding packages ranging from very simple to extremely detailed. See our branding packages on our investment page. But if you already have a branding package completed, we can use that, too!
