What is Branding and Why Do You Need It?

Last week we talked about doing the grunt work for your fantastic business idea.  What to ask, where to get the information and how to put it all together into a cohesive plan.  Now that you have that plan it  is time to come up with your brand or how you are going to present your stellar product to the masses.

What is branding?  

Branding is a holistic approach to your companies position, customer interactions and operations based on your company's values.  It helps you establish and nurture relationships with customers and partners.

What is a brand?

Your brand is a person's gut feeling about your company.  It's an emotional understanding of what your company is and does.  It is how your communications look, how you treat your interactions with customers and vendors, how you treat your employees.  It's how you answer the phone, how easy your website is to use, how quickly you react to customer needs, to the tone of your copywriting.

Why do you need a strong brand?

A strong brand can help to create customer loyalty.  The world's strongest brands don't just have customers or fans, they have advocates.  Your brand helps people know what to expect, and if this is consistent the goal is that they will recommend your brand to others.  Brand is what helps people understand what you do and most importantly, remember you.  The best marketing come from word of mouth referrals from your brand advocates!

A strong brand can also help you claim a bigger portion of the market, attract and retain better employees, block out competition and allow you to expand.  A great brand can help you lead the market and create a niche for yourself rather than trying to compete with what others have already figured out.  Having a great brand can give you more flexibility, higher staff morale, which leads to higher productivity.  It is not a face a company wears, or the colors in your logo, it is the entire experience of interacting with your company.

Cheers!

Kristen