Why is Branding Important?
Branding begins the moment that you choose your company name – but that’s only the beginning of your journey towards a fully realised branding identity. At its simplest, branding is a name and a logo that distinguishes your company from others offering the same services. But successful branding sends out a powerful message about your product, your reputation and the way you treat your customers.
How do Brands Work?
Think about Coca-Cola, McDonald’s or Visa – it’s likely you’ll be able to recall their logo immediately, but most probably you’ll also remember classic TV adverts, merchandise, and your personal experience of using, eating or drinking the product. It’s the solidity of classic brands that gives them their power, and the fact that millions of people share the experience they offer.
Why is a Strong Brand Important?
If there was only one of everything we wouldn’t need branding. The fact that we live in an increasingly crowded marketplace means that we need brands to:
- provide us with a guide as to the best, and the rest – 89% of consumers say that brand is important when choosing products
- personalise offerings so that we can interact with them – 48% of consumers expect brands to know them and help them to discover new products or services
- distinguish between the many offerings – colour enhances brand recognition by up to 80%
- promote values and vision – 64% of consumers state that shared values are the reason they choose brands
Why Branding is Important to a Business
Whilst most businesses won’t find themselves in direct competition with the top brands, they will find themselves competing with local companies offering a similar range of services. Branding can help you to find your niche within the local area, by demonstrating how your business differentiates itself from the rest.
Imagefix works with local businesses on building their brand identity. We’ve identified 5 key areas where brand can communicate powerful messages to your customers:
1. Your Company Name
It’s worth remembering that your company name is how business and clients personalise you.
- It needs to be easy to remember – think PayPal.
- It should be easy to say out loud – think Google.
- Names that tell customers what you do are an instant advert – think Netflix.
- Names that tell stories stick in the mind – think Apple.
2. Your Logo
Logos can be the cause of endless arguments, but if you approach them from the perspective of your customers, the process becomes a whole lot easier. Logos need to be easy to visualise, so the simpler designs using bold colours tend to work better. Imagery or fonts should be appropriate to the industry or sector you sit in, and your design should work equally well for print resources and online.
3. Your Reputation
The brands we choose to engage with are the ones we trust, either because we’ve tested them ourselves or because friends have recommended them to us. Post your reviews up front to show potential customers that people you’ve worked for think you provide a great service. Make it easy for people to rate your business and leave their feedback. Trusted brands are the ones that let their customers do the selling for them.
4. Giving Your Customers Value
With so many brands out there vying for attention, consumers are now looking for a high-value experience from businesses. In practical terms, that means that they’re looking for a website and marketing materials that provide them with useful, accurate information before they enter the sales cycle. Companies that go for the hard sell straight away tend to be shunned.
5. Real Values
The day of the vacuous ‘Mission Statement’ is long gone. Successful brands work hard to show their customers that their values thread through all their business practices. They underpin their values by aligning their supply chain with environmental movements, for example. Or they regularly support selected charities through events or donations. It’s no longer enough to ‘say’ you’re honest, or friendly, you have to prove it in everything you do.
Building Your Brand Identity With Imagefix
Your brand grows with your business; it can’t be created overnight. At Imagefix we help businesses to create strong foundations for that growth, by designing professional, high quality web designs that offer great value to visitors. We work closely with businesses to help them discover the values that sit at the heart of the product or service they offer, and then we integrate and amplify those values throughout every element of the design.
If you are looking to develop your brand identity, or you think it’s time for a refresh, get in touch with the Imagefix team today on 01234 924859/01525 715608 to start the conversation.
