WHAT IS 'BRANDING', AND HOW DOES BRANDING INCREASE REVENUE?

The official Cambridge Definition of Branding is defined as “the act of giving a company a particular design or symbol in order to advertise its products and services.” Once upon a time, that was a pretty accurate description of branding. However, times have changed, and branding has since evolved from simply being a label or logo used to sell products to embodying those products with a brand's values, beliefs, feelings, and so much more.

Branding is often misunderstood for aesthetics or visual identity – like logos, design, and packaging. This is a misunderstanding that is often preached even by specialists and marketers. In all fairness however, if it was simple there wouldn’t be so much dissonance and ambiguity about the concept.

So, what is it really? In a nutshell, Branding is the perpetual process of combining and managing all of a company’s cumulative assets, like the designs, logo, and tone of voice, to create a strong and positive identity for company within the customer’s mind. This identity or perception of the company is the ‘Brand’.

That image or feeling you have in your mind when you think of Apple and iPhones? Yeah, that’s it. And, the building of that image and feeling through design, tone of voice, customer service, marketing, and every other channel available; that's Branding.

Why Is Branding So Important?

A strong Branding Strategy is imperative because of the overall impact it can have on your company. In the ever-changing markets of today, the only way for successful brands to keep up is to stand out and differentiate themselves from the competition in order to better capture their markets and consumers. That is precisely what makes branding so important to businesses.

When done properly, branding can completely change public perception of your brand, increase value, and drive new business – but if done wrongly, it can do the opposite.

A few examples of the benefits of a successful Branding Strategy are:

Increased visibility in the market.

No matter the industry or the business, there’s always competition. Effective branding can help show your customers what makes you special and different – and better. It allows your brand to cut through the clutter of daily life and reach your target customers with content that they can resonate with.

Refined and consistent customer experience.

Providing a consistent experience for your customers whenever they interact with your business is vital to gaining loyal customers and also retaining them. Branding allows you to control each interaction and touch point to ensure that their perception and experience is always consistent and aligned with your brand promise.

Truly understand your customers.

A strong brand understands its customers and allows you to reach out and connect with people at an emotional level, they feel good when they buy your brand. Having that ‘feel good’ factor attaches an emotional experience to engagements with your business. 

Increased business value.

Strong Brands create value. The same way that having 'Nike' or 'Gucci' on certain items raises expectation of quality and price, a well-defined brand creates that expectation and reputation for a business. By continually strengthening that image with a strong narrative, values, and a consistent tone of voice across different channels, the brand creates a consistent experience for customers and allows the brand to influence the value of products and services – along with the entire business itself. 

And that's just some of the benefits of branding. There's a lot more to branding than that.

Better Branding Means Better Marketing

Brands, like diamonds, last forever. Sort of. Strong Brands can last forever, even long after their product or original business is no longer there. However, it's important to remember that they can be faded and eventually destroyed through bad decisions and bad branding in general.

Unlike the product or services that are marketed, the experience from engaging with a brand does not have an expiration date and is something customers will remember - whether the experience was good or bad. An essential step to any successful Branding Strategy is focusing effectively on a business' Branding and brand image to refine and reinforce the feeling of the good experience they give to their customers and differentiate themselves from the competition.

Clearly communicating that identity along with the brand's attributes can make a world of a difference, making brands seem more 'professional' and relatable to customers. Well executed, this further influences a customer's experience with the brand and products by educating them on the value of the brand, rather than simply the value of the product, while also setting expectations for potential and current customers.

In turn, this directly reflects on the business’ marketing and influences the degree of trust that consumers feel towards a product, allowing for greater impact from the marketing with more conversions. After all, people buy from companies they trust.

Branding Improved Employee Satisfaction

This is a facet of Branding that's not talked about often enough, and if sadly often neglected. Branding isn't just about marketing or advertising to potential customers – it's not all on the exterior. Branding should also be done internally – from the values and tone of communication with employees, to the look and feel of the office. A quality brand creates a more highly regarded workplace and gives employees something to believe in and stand behind.

When an employee works for a reputable and highly regarded brand, they are more satisfied with their job and have a higher degree of pride in their work. Human interaction is the foundation of commerce, and employees are always the first line of communication for any business or brand. When employees who relate to the brand pass their perception further down to clients and consumers, this in turn can translate to better products and services.  And, that is an effect that can impact virtually every way a brand is seen and heard by customers. 

All that to say, Branding is a powerful thing. In the famous words of Philip Kotler,

But then again, you probably know that Branding can work wonders for businesses. After all, I'm sure everyone reading this has probably participated in or heard of the timeless 'Apple vs Android' debate - which sums up how effective Branding can be, considering how both sides have so many advocates. So, the real question is:

Should I Brand My Business?

The short answer is yes. The longer version is that Branding in itself is far from simple and is definitely not a one-page subject. Building a brand is a whole lot different from heading over to your local build-a-bear.  

It’s an ever-evolving process that covers many different areas of expertise, and there isn’t really a ‘one size fits all’ solution. The main thing to remember is that branding is an action. While it may be daunting at first, it’s am empowering process for any business which allows you to tell your story. Whatever that story is, the way you tell it through your branding can make all the difference for your business.

With the Billions of sites out there on the internet, that story and image you create for your brand is what allows you to separate from the rest. So, if you want your business to be valued for what you've created and not just for your products, then branding is the way to go. And we can help you with that. If you need help setting your brand apart and reaching your audience, just contact us and we'll get started with a free call!