According to the Cambridge dictionary, branding is the act of giving a company a certain design or symbol. For the purpose of advertising its products and services. It was a pretty accurate description of branding but only a few years ago.

Recently, branding is more than just the aesthetic component, i.e., visual identity. Oftentimes, it is misunderstood to be all about the visual identity of a brand, such as its name, logo, packaging, design, etc. The concept of branding and its understanding have majorly evolved over the years. However, still, a large number of people are preaching the same old vision of branding.

What Exactly Is Branding?

Apparently, if the explanation of branding were that simple, there would be no such confusion in the first place. As stated by Tom Goodwin, “Brands are essentially patterns of meaning, fondness, familiarity, and reassurance that exists in the minds of people.”

To truly understand branding, you need to have a decent knowledge of marketing, business, and some basics of human relations. It is such a vast concept that it’s pretty difficult to find the correct definition. One that encompasses everything that it represents. The perpetual process of identifying, producing, and managing the growing assets while taking actions that shape the perception of a brand in a stakeholder’s mind is called branding. In easy words, branding is the way your potential customer perceives you.

For a successful brand, it is crucial to be aware of your brand experience. And accordingly, have a plan that creates just the right brand experience that you want your customers to have. A great branding strategy isn’t something that happens overnight. It should be a well-thought-out and strategic plan. A plan that your brand follows consistently.

However, still, a large number of small businesses and start-ups underestimate the importance of branding. They simply neglect to spend some necessary amount of time thinking about their brand in this broad sense. And, more importantly, the impact it has on their business. Branding is important for every business because it increases its value, gives employees motivation and direction, and makes attracting new customers easier.

At Artisticore, we are dedicated to helping clients create a unique and successful branding system. A branding strategy complements their business, products/services, and values.

Purpose Of Branding

Many people mistake branding and marketing for the same thing. And before jumping any further into the purpose of branding, let us first understand the difference. The marketing tactic is used to make something look visually appealing to the viewers.

Essentially, a brand is more like a promise that a company makes to its consumers. The main purpose of branding is understanding and consistently living from a true identity. Just so that all the other components align well. And grow in such a manner that is effective for anyone who encounters the collection of people who make up a brand.

On the contrary, the purpose of branding in marketing is to establish trust with your potential customers. And create loyalty. Not only it gives your buyers several reasons to remember you as a brand. But also creates a unique brand identity for your business. While setting you apart from the competitors.

Reasons Why Branding Is Important

If we were to describe the importance of branding, the list literally goes on and on. Branding is important for every business because of the overall impact it has on a company. We prefer to put ourselves in the customer’s shoes. And create a branding strategy that you’d want to see if you were them. Not only it will make it quite simple. But will also reduce the chances of overwhelming yourself or anyone in general.

Because of the importance of branding, it is recommended to consider it from the very initial stage of your business. With this in mind, here are some common reasons why having a branding strategy is important.

Branding increases your business value.

Branding is crucial for a brand trying to generate future business. A well-established brand has the tendency to increase a business’s value. By giving the organization more leverage and recognition in the competitive market. Because of this particular reason, it becomes a more appealing and beneficial investment opportunity. As it will make a firmly established place in the industry.

Having a strong brand will provide value to your company beyond your physical assets. It will give you something important to consider if your long-term plan consists of selling your business. To increase your business value, your branding must tell a story. Something that answers the important question, “why you?”. For this purpose, try to use visual elements, taglines, slogans, and actions. To create a message that showcases your business and its value.

Branding helps to generate new customers.

A well-known brand will have absolutely no trouble in drumming up referral business. Strong branding means you maintain a positive impression of the company among potential customers. Additionally, it increases the chances of them willing to do business with you in the coming future. Mainly because of the familiarity and assumed dependability on a name that they can trust.

Word of mouth is one of the best and most effective advertising techniques for a well-established brand. It’s exactly like how the reputation of a specific person is built. Words spread, and in a matter of time, you become known for that particular thing. Now, it’s quite obvious that your reputation will be according to those words. If those words are positive, then you will have a good reputation in the industry. If not, then it will clearly affect your brand’s reputation.

Almost every person loves to tell others about the brands they like. They are constantly telling (or, at times, bragging) about the brands they love. On the contrary, if one can’t remember a brand, they simply can’t talk about it to anyone. Additionally, a strong branding strategy, like backlinks, etc., is important to generate referrals or viral traffic. As this is more technical work, you may want to hire a professional for this purpose. Well, no worries, because we, Artisticore, can look after this for our valuable clients.

Helps to provide motivation and direction to your employees

Literally, any company can hire employees. But only a well-established and strong brand has the ability to hire motivated employees. Such dedicated employees are inspired to carry your vision and mission forward. Whenever a person works for a strong branded company and truly stands behind the brand, it results in them being more satisfied with their job. Additionally, have a higher degree of pride in the work they do. All of these factors contribute to a successful brand. Because a satisfied employee is equally important as a satisfied customer.

For a person, working for a reputable brand and one that is held in high regard amongst the public makes working for that company enjoyable and fulfilling. It provides them a direction on how to act, how to succeed, and how to strive to meet the goals of their organization.

Now, if we talk about a brand’s stakeholders, it is often mistaken as the clients only. But actually, it includes an organization’s employees too. It is a well-known fact that human interaction is the basis of commerce. And employees are the very first line of communication for any brand. Or you can also consider them as the first ambassadors.

If an employee has a good association with your brand, then it will perpetuate that perception further down the line to the clients. And the other partners they are in contact with. Lastly, it can also translate into more involvement, better leadership, and enhanced products and services.

Establishes trust within the marketplace

We are probably aware of the fact of how important it is for a brand to develop trust. Any brand’s reputation eventually boils down to the amount of trust a client can have in it. The more one can trust a brand, the better perception one has of it. As a result, it builds a stronger reputation for a brand in the industry.

An organization needs to represent itself in a professional way. While providing social proof of their products and services being quality controlled. This way, prospects will gain trust in the company. And feel more comfortable spending their hard-earned money on something worth it. Also, be open to your customers. Feel free to tell them about the little details of your business. For instance, your team, behind the scenes, and the procedure behind a product or service. Try to maintain positive online communication on social platforms to keep them coming back for more.

For effective and successful branding, search for all the right ways to earn trust. And also how to maintain a certain level of trust between the company and all of its stakeholders. This can be done by establishing a realistic promise and delivering on that promise. Simply, trust develops in the stakeholder’s minds only if the promise is being delivered upon.

Strong branding improves recognition.

As mentioned above, people tend to do business with brands they are familiar with. No matter if it’s physical or online. Case, if your branding is easily recognizable and consistent, then the customer will feel more comfortable when purchasing your product or services.

Surely, your logo shouldn’t be the main focus of all your branding efforts. But still, put some time and effort into coming up with a visually appealing and memorable logo. For this purpose, you can collaborate with a professional designer who is able to meet your requirements and needs. Not only should your logo be memorable. But also effective in creating the desired impression of your company. The viewers should instantly think and feel what you want them to think and feel.

Supports your marketing efforts

Marketing and sales are important components of your brand. The channels and mediums chosen for marketing efforts, as well as the targeted demographic, helps to build and grow your brand. However, be careful of too narrow of a marketing focus. This will risk creating restrictions for yourself and losing all your ability to expand into new markets. On the contrary, too broad of a marketing focus can also result in an inability. Such as in creating a definable impression of your company in customers’ minds.

Speaking of sales, you will only be able to make money based on how your branding marketing strategies work out for you. Branding will majorly help to create sales and revenue for your business. As the customers will be tempted to test you out. And the final results will determine if you will make more sales or not. Read more about responsive design and visual marketing.

To Summarize

Right off the bat, let’s make this clear that the topic of branding is not a one-pager. It is an ever-evolving subject that includes many different areas of expertise. Including advertising, design, marketing, business management, psychology, and many others. Branding consists of multiple layers, and each one has its own meaning and purpose.

If you give your potential customers a reason to care about your brand, then they have a reason to buy. It’s human nature to make purchasing decisions based on emotions. And not logic. So, your goal should be to create an emotion in the viewer’s eye whenever they come across your brand. To become an industry leader and run a successful business, create strong branding. It is how your customers perceive you and the blueprint of your business. Let us help you brand your company professionally and properly. Check out our latest blog post.