The Importance of Branding for your Business

When you hear the word branding, several companies may have come to your mind. Just look at Nike, Air Canada, Coca-Cola, Apple, McDonald?s to understand the idea of branding. These are businesses that you remembered because of how well they executed their branding. They were able to create a strong brand image and awareness that is consistent across all platforms. Building a strong brand for your business allows you to build brand loyalty, tell your story, and achieve your desired results.

What is branding?

Branding allows companies to be recognized instantly by customers. Branding provides a specific concept of what a company does based on their values and identity. Building your brand can happen by establishing specific concepts, colors, words that tell the story of what your business does. Brand identity encompasses communications such as typography, style, logo design, colour scheme, and style on products or website design. Consistency within your branding through these visual communications allows customers to recognize the company before reading the name.

It?s important to understand that branding goes far beyond colours, fonts, and your logo. It is the emotional connection that is built with your audience. If you have a strong brand identity, your audience will know. A strong brand is crucial to the success and longevity of any business.

A strong brand leads to customer loyalty

Think of the last time you purchased a product or service, did your previous experience with the company influence you? Perhaps you remember a commercial that brought some emotion or reaction to you. Often customers will choose a product or service based on the loyalty they have developed over time for a company. Therefore, your brand should embody the values of the company. When the branding is consistent on all platforms, customers who have the same values will be aligned with that company.

Building a strong relationship with customers based on shared values is the best way to build brand loyalty. It is vital to analyze what your ideal customer values and demonstrate those same values through your business. Building brand loyalty is something that is slow and happens over time. The relationship between customer and business is built on trust. It can slowly be built in several ways, such as providing exceptional customer service, listening to the needs and wants of customers, providing previous examples of your work through testimonials. The goal is to create long partnerships with customers that go far beyond just one sale.

Allows you to tell your story

Think of how many products or services you see throughout your day, there are thousands. As a business, it is not key that you go beyond just providing a quality product or service. You need to be able to differentiate your product or service from all the others that are offered every day. ?You can do this by explaining to your customer YOUR story. Being able to evoke an emotional response in your customers while sharing your history, story, challenges, success will help customers remember your brand over others. Be sure to allow your customers to be part of your story. Create an experience for your customers, ask for their input, allow them to engage.

People buy from those that they know and trust. By building that strong customer relationship and sharing your story, those customers will more than likely buy from you. When your story connects with the target customer, you build trust. You win.