What is Branding? And 6 Reasons it is Important
So you may have heard of this thing called branding. I mean, how could you not? Everyone and their mom is talking about it! The word branding gets thrown around a lot these days, but it’s not always defined in quite the same way, or very clearly.
In this post I’m going to explain branding, what it is, and why we do it. I’ll also clarify the differences between brand, branding, and brand identity. If you’ve been thinking about stepping up your game with branding (or rebranding) but you aren’t entirely sure how it can help your business, then this post is for you.
First things first,
what is branding?
Branding (or to brand) is the action of developing a marketing niche and strategy, creating a brand identity (the part you see with your eyes), developing your unique communication style, and making rules for how your business interacts with existing and potential clients and customers.
Your brand is the product of the process we call branding. It is the culmination of many efforts and how they are perceived by your audience.
Branding, or brand is sometimes confused with developing a logo or the other visual elements that represent your business or organization. In reality, your logo and other visuals are just the outer shell that people can actually see.
Your logo is quite literally the mark for your brand. It is the reason we use the word brand in the first place.
FUN FACT: the word brand originates from the Old Norse word brandr or “to burn.” It came to be associated with placing a mark to claim ownership. But even before the word was widely used, the process of branding already existed without this name. Some of the earliest evidence of branding comes from potters and masons marking their products, dating back over 6,000 years ago.
Today, the word brand encompasses so much more than just a way to mark ownership. A lot goes on underneath the surface. For example, customer service and how you communicate with your audience, put another kind of mark on your brand and help to form the overall impression people have of your business.
When the stuff at the core of your business is done well, your logo and visual branding remind your clients and customers of what a good experience it is to work with or buy from you.
How Brand or Branding is different from Brand Identity
In the last section, I mentioned how your brand (or branding) is the culmination of several things which influence how your business is perceived by your audience. This includes, of course, what your audience sees, literally, with their eyes.
Brand identity refers to all the visual elements, including your logo, color palette, typography, and other visual elements that are used across all of your marketing materials.
Your brand identity is the “face” of your business. It is the shell for your brand and is often the first thing people will encounter when they interact with your brand. It is your first chance to create an impression.
Your brand identity is consistently applied to every outward facing communication including website, advertising, social media channels, videos, packaging, and whatever else you put out into the world. At the very beginning, it might be simply your business card.
If you have employees, your brand identity may also be applied to inward facing materials. The perception of your brand extends to them as well. They could even be your biggest promoters.
Or, if it’s just you, branding all of your materials can serve to provide motivation and direction for your business, just like it would for employees. Showing the outside world that you are professional, starts with you.
Your brand identity makes your brand come to life in a tangible way that the other aspects of branding don’t provide.
Why is Branding Important?
So why do we do all this anyway? What the heck is the point? Chances are you already know that branding is important, or you wouldn’t be reading this. But, how can branding actually help you reach the next level in your small business?
Here are 6 reasons why branding matters:
1 Branding is all about strategy
Ever heard of a business plan? Duh, of course you have. It is the foundation of many businesses, and if you’ve started one yourself you may have even created one already. The traditional business plan, however, usually does not cover brand strategy.
A brand strategy is like a blueprint for your business, and if you aren’t looking for capital investors, is likely a better starting point than the traditional business plan template (minus the financial plan - you should obviously still make sure your business is sustainable).
At the start of every brand identity project, I ask each client to complete my custom-made brand discovery workbook. It helps them to get clear on their offering, explore who their ideal client or customer is, establish their brand values and promise and lay the groundwork from which to create a visual brand identity.
Without a strategy, starting, and running your small business can feel like one big hot mess, with no direction. When you start by breaking down the reason behind your business, the why behind what you do, finding that direction and drive becomes a hell of a lot easier.
Once you have a brand strategy, your marketing efforts can become much more focused and intentional.
2 Branding builds trust
Your brand represents the promise you make to your clients and customers, to yourself, and to your employees.
Your brand promise tells others what to expect when they interact with your brand. It also serves as a reminder to yourself of the level of service, or quality, that you have promised to provide.
When you fulfill your brand promise, you tell clients and customers that they can trust you and that you can deliver on what you say you can.
A brand identity is another layer in how you can show potential clients and customers that you are legit. It shows them that you are a professional and dependable business. Applying that identity consistently over time shows your audience that you are reliable, and builds confidence that you will deliver on your promise.
Being consistent with your visual identity is just as important as being consistent in delivering on your brand promise. When you are “on brand” with your actions, as well as your visuals, you build trust.
Fulfilling your brand promise and building trust is really important in building a new business and can lead to new clients and customers through “word-of-mouth” recommendations. It is important for well-established business too.
Failing to deliver on your brand promise can quickly have a negative effect and cause a loss of trust.
How you operate, the actual product(s) you offer, and how you interact with your customers or clients are part of your brand promise. It is important that what you can provide is accurately stated in your promise.
Never overstate what you have the capacity to provide, even if it is less than you want at the moment. Promise only what you can actually deliver. When clients and customers feel that you have provided what you promised they will be happier with your products and services and more likely to recommend you to their network.
3 Branding boosts recognition
Adding a logo and visual (brand) identity to your brand strategy can help boost recognition. As a business owner, you’re going to work your tail off to fulfill your brand promise. But all of that is worthless if your satisfied client or customer cannot easily refer you to others.
Having a memorable name, logo, and visual look that is applied consistently across all of your marketing materials will help your fans remember you and make them more likely to recommend your business to others.
If you are just starting out, brand recognition can even start with just your business name, so make it something people will remember. Adding the visual support later can become a very engaging process for your loyal clients and customers and can help solidify their support. Let them feel a part of the process in some way and you will likely be the first business they think of recommending when the opportunity arises.
Ready to make the investment in your business by adding a brand identity to your strategy? Check out my brand packages and schedule a free consultation call.
4 Branding inspires you and your employees
Let’s be honest, staying inspired to do the work we set out to do does not come easy 100% of the time. You can also bet that if you lack that inspiration from time to time, if you are at the stage where you have employees working for you, they will too.
By being ultra-clear in your brand strategy and uncovering the purpose of your business (the WHY behind what you do) AND putting this front and center, you’ll create a constant reminder for yourself and employees that the work you do has meaning. Making it much easier to find the daily motivation needed to run your business as you’d like to.
This is not to say that you are going to wake up every single day of your life and feel like doing the work! You and your employees are (very likely at least) still human. So give yourself, and them, a break, when motivation is occasionally lacking. If morale is low on a regular basis, then you know you need to revisit your WHY and focus on clarity in your mission.
I can speak from personal experience as an employee at a large company, that when your company is either not clear with their WHY, or that WHY does not resonate with you, you are far less likely to feel vested in the work. My personal belief is that we all want to feel like we are doing work that matters, and that sense of investment determines the quality of our work.
So get clear on your WHY and make sure your employees are on board. No one in your business will ever be as invested in the work as you are, it is your business after all. Expecting them to care as much as you do is a recipe for disappointment. However, it is absolutely essential that you and your team find fulfillment in the work, because that is when the magic happens. So much more is possible when you are invested in the mission.
Another added benefit of a strong brand strategy is that it can help you to attract talent when you are looking to make your first or next hire. If you’ve ever looked for a job before, chances are you applied to a lot of different companies, but only some of them were companies you really wanted to work for. Am I right? Chances are good that those companies you really wanted to work for, had a clear purpose, and you resonated with it.
It is completely within your power to become one of those “dream to work for” companies too!
5 Branding supports your marketing efforts
In your brand strategy, you will have established who your ideal clients and customers are. This will allow you to really focus your efforts on speaking directly to them. You will also have developed a set of brand values and explored things like how you want those ideal clients to feel when they interact with your brand.
All of the effort you put in when creating your brand strategy really pays off when it is time to put together advertising materials, and decide where they appear.
Whether you currently do paid or unpaid advertising doesn’t matter. I believe time is truly one of our most valuable resources, perhaps the most valuable. Get absolutely clear on your brand, and you’ll save way more than money when you are able to concentrate your efforts and get your message out more effectively and efficiently.
6 Branding builds value
Your customers’ and clients’ perception of your brand depends on several factors, such as how well you fulfill your brand promise, how your offering compares to similar offerings, and how your brand makes them feel.
All of these factors play into the value that your customers and clients assign to your brand. When it comes to brand value, they really have all the power. This is why consistently following through on your brand promise and being uber consistent with your brand visuals are so important because they have a strong influence on perception and the power to help form emotional connections.
At the end of the day, what you do in your business is meant to serve others. By bringing value to your clients and customers on a regular basis through your brand promise, they will reward you with the kind of value that keeps them coming back and recommending your business to others.
Have I answered all your questions about branding? Let me know in the comments! I love feedback. Or check out my brand identity packages to get started on yours.
Not ready for a brand identity quite yet? Check out my free ideal client profile workbook instead.
