Why is branding so important?
Building a brand isn’t just about having a pretty logo and sharing similar looking images on social media. While this helps with keeping your brand’s image consistent there’s a lot more going on behind the scenes and at the beginning of the branding process to build a business.
REPRESENTATION
Your brand should represent the values of your business and the personality behind it. You should have a good idea of exactly who you are targeting your business offering at, where do they hang out on and offline, what are their likes and dislikes and how can you get into their heads so that they want to shop with you or do business with you and want to share you with their friends!
Once you know who your target audience is, you can tailor your brand to this type of customer through strategic design, tone of voice, marketing strategies and more!
RECOGNITION
A great brand is easily recognisable. For example the big players when it comes to food and drink, chain restaurants, film companies and big retailers all have an easily identifiable logo and brand image.
As a small business this might not be as easy but once you’re showing up on your ideal customer’s social media feed or google search results you’re likely to stick in their head and once they shop with you they’re also likely to share you with their friends if you absolutely knocked their socks off!
CREATES TRUST
Your brand should create a level of trust with your customers whether they are one off or returning. You know how sometimes you want to buy something online but the website is dated and the checkout system is clunky and they don’t have an SSL certificate (the padlock in the search bar) which makes you question whether you really want to enter your bank details?
This is why it’s super important to get it right before launching. Speak to your designer about the best ways to look appear trustworthy both on and offline. This could mean including reviews on your website and adding “secure payments” messaging to your site footer but ultimately keeping your branding consistent from print and digital to your telephone manner.
GENERATES REFERRALS
If a customer is happy with what you’ve offered them they’re likely to share this with their friends and family or on social media and this in turn can generate more leads to your website. It can also mean that you have a returning customer which looks even better on you when they tell their friends that they only shop or do business with you for a specific item or service.
DELIVERS RESULTS
Most importantly, great branding delivers results. You need to back up what you have on offer by showing that you know your stuff. Create a strategy for your business and growth that aligns with your brand values and appearance as this can be the difference between your offering selling or not.
