If you were to ask 100 different people this question, you would receive 100 different answers, most of them valid. But, if we look at what the word brand means from multiple perspectives, we can gather a better understanding of why it’s so important to have one and how to develop your own powerful brand.
1. Why should you care about your brand
Your brand is how other people perceive you and what they know about your products or services. Branding matters because you want customers to have a good opinion of your company and its products or services before purchasing anything from you. It’s difficult for someone new to buy something from someone if he has never heard of that person or seen their name anywhere before, so making sure that all aspects of branding are taken care of will help with this issue. The most common types of branding include: Brand Direction- the design theme for brands; Brand Awareness- awareness for brands; Brand Positioning- where the brand fits into society; Brand Development- developing the marketing strategy; Brand Strategy- all aspects relating to branding including creating logos, slogans, colors and more
2. Reasons Why Your Brand Matters
Designing your brand and understanding what defines your brand (brand design) is important. These are the main reasons that you should invest the time to create a strong brand for your business or service:
1. Establish Authority – Successful brands communicate an easy-to-understand value proposition that tells people who they are and what they offer; this reassures people who are considering doing business with them. For example, Nike’s Just Do It slogan speaks to their values of performance & being physically active in a fun way.
2. Value Authenticity – When you know who you are as a company, as well as what your key strengths are, then making meaningful connections with people becomes easier because authenticity breeds trust.
3. Basics Of Building And Protecting Your Brand
A brand is more than just a logo or slogan. It’s the reputation of your company. It can be intangible like Coca-Cola with their catchphrase The best thing in the world or tangible like Nike who has established their trademark swoosh symbol across most of their product lines. The benefits are numerous, but to start off with you need to have a plan for what your Brand Strategy will look like. There are four main components: Mission statement, brand positioning statement, core values statements and personality profiles. Your strategy should then be conveyed through branding guidelines that dictate everything from website layouts to designs for product packaging as well as slogans for print ads and billboards. If all of these components seem daunting or confusing don’t worry!
4. Create An Efficient Marketing Strategy
A successful brand strategy starts with an understanding of the competition. It can be helpful to see what your competitors are doing wrong so you do not have to make those mistakes too. Researching the way customers interact with brands will help you figure out how they perceive your brand as well. Then the most important step is to create a Brand Identity Statement. This statement defines the goals of your company, establishes your company’s qualities and defines who your customer demographic is.
5. Measure Your Marketing Campaigns Effectiveness (CRM)
Instead of using one large marketing campaign that can be tough to measure, break the campaign down into segments. The types of campaigns are: brand awareness or advertising, conversion rate (winning visitors over with ad creatives), retention rates (existing customers or members who purchase products) and sentiment studies (customers satisfaction with brands). By separating these key metrics you can easily track how your campaign will affect all aspects of the business, which ultimately translates to a higher ROI.
