Branding is often an overlooked process for most small companies. Owners see it as an expensive coat of paint for their business, often only thinking about the logo, website, and print materials as resulting products. However, it’s seriously one of the greatest things you can do to grow your business.
That excites the hell out of me.
Branding is so straightforward that anyone can understand it. While branding experts are better equipped to guide the process, most business owners can decide what the outcome should look like, given they’re willing to invest a little time.
Branding Done Right Conveys Your Message
At its core, banding is the process of communicating who you are as a company to your clients. Through it, you share what matters to you, what you value about your clients, and what value you can bring to them. It helps you illustrate what kind of world you want to help build with your company.
That information matters to your clients. An Edelman study shows that 66% of consumers will choose a company based on what it stands for. Of those, 67% chose to buy from a brand for the first time because of their stance on a controversial subject, and 65% refused to buy from a brand who stayed quiet when the consumers thought that speaking up would be appropriate.
Your branding is the voice the consumer wants to hear.
It’s Important Not To Get Branding Wrong
For as easy as branding is to understand, it’s even easier to take it the wrong direction. Many companies are afraid of public opinion, especially winding up on the wrong side of it. Out of that fear, there is a tendency to take a “vanilla” approach, ignoring those ever-important social and political issues that the consumer expects to hear about.
Similarly, when a company forgets to put an emphasis on its mission statement, branding becomes boring and lacks personality. By not emphasizing what your company stands for, you risk appearing as a “corporate stuffed shirt” of a company.
Both are way too easy to do if you’re not as excited about branding (and what it does for your business) as I am.
Here Are 5 Reasons You Should Be Excited About Branding
If you haven’t fallen head-over-heels for the idea behind and process of branding yet, here are 5 great reasons that you should.
You Want Your Clients’ Trust
When you have branded your company with a foundation of your mission statement and made sure that everything about your brand represents what your company stands for, people trust that you mean what you say. They know that when you speak up about a social or political issue, it’s a genuine feeling. They can stand with you because they know you’re not just saying what seems popular.
You Want Your Company Recognized
If your branding is complete, your clients (and most other consumers) will know when it’s you they’re dealing with. Both by appearance and reputation, your company becomes a fixture in that area of your client’s lives. When they think of your industry, they’ll think of you first. Your product or service will be the one they recognize.
You Want Strong Marketing Results
There is absolutely no point in marketing when you know it will be both weak and ineffective. That’s the secret sauce of branding. You see, when your branding is done with your mission at the core, your marketing explodes. You’re able to connect with your target client base where it matters – at their hearts. When you do that, you will create a level of loyalty and return from your marketing strategy that you’ve never experienced before.
You Want Motivated Employees
By identifying what matters to your company, you will start to attract like-minded employees. These people will inherently take pride in working for your company, motivating them to work incredibly hard to help carry your mission out. Through centering your company culture around a strong mission, you will draw out the best in the people who work for you.
You Want To Make More Money
Here’s the bread and butter reason to get excited by branding. Not only will consumers be more attracted to your product or service when you’ve branded correctly, but they’ll be more willing to share it with their friends and family. Evangelists – people who eagerly encourage those around them to use your product or service – are the best salespeople a company could ask for. They’re clients first, and they’re not motivated by a paycheck. They want you to succeed because they believe in you, and that makes their efforts to spread the word about you more fruitful.
Make Your Branding Count
If you want to see the benefits of branding that I went over here and participate in the excitement, the best thing you can do it get started on your foundation. Determine why your company exists and what it stands for, then begin to build a brand around that.
