Branding, Branding, and More Branding

Whether we realize it or not, branding is everywhere. Why do we think of Nike when we hear the words, “just do it”? Why do images of Mickey Mouse and Disneyland’s famous castle come to mind when we see their slogan “the happiest place on earth”? The answer is simple: great branding. All big and successful businesses have their own unique branding that makes people remember them. Apple has its apple, Coca-Cola has its iconic red and white colors, and McDonald’s has its famous golden arches. Whether you’re an aspiring business owner or an experienced one, building your own brand is essential. In this article, we discuss what branding is and how you can get started with building your own unique brand.

What is Branding?

Branding is so much more than a company’s logo. Branding describes both your company’s visual identity and your customer’s overall perception of your brand. It defines your business to your target audience, the lifeline of every company. It’s what your customers imagine whenever they think about your business and your products or services. Because of this, branding ultimately answers the question: “How do I want my customers to see my business?” A great brand includes your brand promises, brand personality, reputation, and your customer’s experiences and expectations.

Credit: Marketing Donut

Why Branding is so Important for Small Businesses

Your brand influences every aspect of your customer’s perceptions of your business. It builds trust, recognition, loyalty, and reputation. Ever interact with people who only buy e.l.f makeup products or only wear Chanel? Ever wonder why they’re so dedicated to their brands? It’s because those companies have amazing branding. People want to buy products with reputation, and the only way to build your reputation is to grow your brand. Your brand also tells your customers about your products or services, your business’s customer relations, employee relations, values, and societal goals. It plays an essential role in shaping the overall perceptions of both current and potential customers. If you want people to recognize your business, you have to create a memorable brand.

Branding vs. Marketing

You might have heard the terms “branding” and “marketing” being used interchangeably. Well, they are definitely connected, but there are some key differences between the two. Marketing is all about achieving tactical goals through short-term marketing objectives, such as sales and revenue growth, reaching potential customers, and expanding market dominance. On the other hand, branding tells your customers about your business, including its messages, its history, and its goals. Branding serves as a guide for your marketing plan, and marketing promotes your business and products or services. Marketing relies on a great brand, and a great brand helps with different marketing strategies. In order to be great at one, you have to be great at the other.

Building Your Brand for Your Ideal Client

By now, you may already know the importance of finding out your target audience (but if you haven’t, check out this article: Understanding Your Audience). In order to build your perfect brand, you need to find out your target audience’s wants, needs, and expectations from your business. Your brand’s purpose is to speak to your target audience. If you don’t know who that group is, there’s no point in building a brand. When it comes to finding your target audience, bigger does not mean better. The bigger your target audience is, the more difficult it can be to build a brand that speaks to all of them. The more you narrow down your ideal clients, the more effective your branding strategies can be. When researching your target audience, you should consider factors such as your customers’ age, gender, and occupation. You should also research the target audiences of similar or competing brands to gain a better understanding of who your ideal clients might be.

Credit: IM London

How to Define Your Brand Identity

Now that we have a better understanding of branding and how important it is for your small business, let’s dive right into developing your brand identity.

1. Outline Your Business’s Purpose

Just like every business’s mission statement, every brand has its own original purpose, and yours will too. When figuring out your business’s purpose, make sure to ask yourself a few important questions:

What problems do my products or services solve?

What makes my business unique, and how can I apply this to my brand?

Why should my customers care about my brand?

How is my mission statement reflected in my brand’s purpose?

Understanding why you created your small business is critical for deciding your brand. The more you know about your business journey, the more information you have to tell your customers.

2. Research Competitor Brands

Your competition is one of the biggest resources you’ll have when learning how to improve your business. By studying your competitors, you learn what they do well and what they don’t. Take inspiration from their business models and make them better. In terms of branding, you can learn how your competitors are positioning their brands and the kinds of branding strategies they’re using. You can also obtain more information about their ideal clients and how they respond to your competitors’ branding and communication styles. If you see that their customers dislike one aspect of their branding, change it for yours. Learning from your competitors gives you a greater understanding of how to better differentiate your own products or services, allowing you to stand out from the crowd.

3. Develop Your Brand Story and Brand Message

Your brand story tells your customers everything they need to know about the start of your business. Your philosophies, your motivations, your vision, and your journey are all aspects of your business that your clients need to know. When creating your brand message, make sure to ask yourself a few questions about your business venture:

What motivated me to create my business?

What are the highlights of my journey?

What ideas guide me and the direction of my business?

In what ways do my products or services reflect my business’s core values?

You also need to establish the tone of your brand. Is your business playful, serious, traditional, or adventurous? What changes am I trying to make? What do I want my customer to take away from my business? Asking yourself these questions leads you to growing and improving upon your brand.

4. Integrate Your Brand into Your Business

The last step of establishing your brand is to integrate it to every aspect of your business. You need to get the word out there. All of your current and potential customers need to see your brand whenever they interact with any part of your business. A great way to start spreading your brand is through social media marketing, content marketing, website design, and email marketing. Whenever people think about your business, they should also be thinking about your brand. All you have to do is make it easy for them to see your branding.

Branding is not just for large corporations. Although you’ll have to put in a lot of work, you can also successfully establish a unique brand that tells your customers everything they need to know about your business. Your brand is the first thing your customers will think about when they interact with your business. Make sure to take the time and effort to build your brand. Your customers and your business will thank you.

If you want to read more about Barbie’s business ventures, check out the rest of her website at barbiepatel.com. Or if you want to learn about her Indian bridal services, visit her page at cinderellabridez.com!