What Makes a Brand!
People often use the terms Logo and Brand interchangeably. Although the logo is a symbol of a business it isn’t entirely a brand. However, the log is something that creates the impression or what we call as brand recall. For example, looking at the big yellow M on a red background instantly reminds us that it’s McDonald's, same goes for the clown.
So branding a business involves giving it such visual recalls that trigger the memory of that brand in the consumer's mind.
Creating an engaging brand story can help you stand out. Get detailed on How To Create A Brand Story That Connects With Audiences that will help you to create your own branding story that will connect with your audience too.
So, what precisely is a brand?
When you search the Internet you will come across a diverse range of answers which will leave you in confusion. Let me simplify it for you. “A service or a product provided by a particular company under a particular name can be termed as a brand.” The brand might have a name, symbol, term or a design that is distinct from the rest so that it becomes easy for customers to identify the product or service easily.
It is rightly said by Navid Moazzez that “Building a profitable personal brand online is not a sprint and something that happens overnight. Don't aim for perfection early on. Instead, allow your brand to evolve naturally over time and focus on providing massive value and over-deliver to your target audience. Then you will get clearer over your message and brand as well. Always remember that!”
Did you know? Levi's first used its logo design in 1886 as a way to grow its market share and it successfully increased the turnover to over 15% in the following year.
So yes, branding is important which will lead to communication through which you can cross borders and spread your business horizons.
Steps that need to be followed to create a lasting brand impression…
1. Understand your target audience and target markets
2. Gauge the growth and understand how quickly your target market is growing
3. Understand the needs and wants of your customers and how your target market is segmented
4. Differentiate your products or services from the rest
Going on the right track?
Question yourself. “Why is branding necessary?”
Let me make you understand the importance of branding!
Branding is crucial to any business because it will change how people perceive your business and create your brand’s lasting impression. With a logo to your brand, your business gets its individuality and face value. Your company gets its recognition and becomes known to the consumers. So brand identity is extremely vital for your business.
A brand is the face and maintaining this face through a course of time consistently builds credibility and trust. A well-strategic branding and a professional appearance will create trust within the marketplace which in turn will attract potential clients, consumers, and customers.
Advertising is a component of branding that will help you stand apart from the crowd in today’s global market. You can compete in the global economy through online advertising and set your target audience. With the world going online, it is also easy to position yourself and educate customers on the difference between you and your competitor through branding techniques.
Another way to remain in constant touch with your customers is through social media where you can directly communicate with your clients and create an affinity for your brand. Brands like Nike, Coca Cola, Uber are the companies that are making maximum use of social media platforms to market their services and products. It is believed that Amazon converts 90% percent of its customers using strategic social media marketing efforts apart from that twitter and facebook have proven to be a valuable resort for the cops departments and various governmental agencies to stay in touch with the citizens.
Coca Cola, by embarking on a mission to be the most optimistic brand on all social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, has rooted this strategy to uplift its social media presence. Cupcake Royale, a Seattle based cupcake and ice-cream company, has spread its horizons just with the help of social media. Having more than 55k followers, they use social media to involve their fans in their business by enlisting their audience to provide suggestions for new flavors.
Instead of selling their products through sales messages they use social media platforms to engage their customers.
So, how to build a brand?
With millions of businesses trying to create a name for them and having a strong brand identity, the start-up needs to know how to build a brand. Let’s understand how.
1. Research your audience, competitors and value proposition
The first step towards building your brand is to know every aspect of your business for which you need to complete your market search. Learn about your audience and competitors to stand differently in the market.
Ask two questions.
1) How can you make your business unique in your industry?
2) What product or service you can offer that the rest of them don’t?
If you can answer these two questions, you know the strengths of your business and hence your business has an advantage over your competitors. Perform a SWOT analysis that will help you to know your strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats. The more you know about your business, the stronger the brand identity you will be able to create.
2. Design your company logo and template
Once you know the nitty-gritty of your business, the second step is to build a very vital element of your brand i.e. the Brand Logo. Through your brand logo, your business gets recognition. Also, create business templates that will give your business a more professional, credible and unified look. Use them for your brand throughout all areas of your business to create a brand identity.
3. Monitor your brand continuously
It is important to know whether the methods of your marketing are working or not. Use Google Analytics, social media discussions, comments and surveys to monitor your brand and interact with your audience. This will act as a buffer and will give you an opportunity to improver or revamp your brand identity and correct your mistakes.
4. Know your don’ts
The following points are the don’ts of your business while building a brand identity.
· Learn from your competitors but don’t copy them
· Know what you want to say to your customers and avoid giving messages that might confuse them
· Don’t go haywire with your marketing materials. Your business’s online and offline marketing materials should be consistent
Your customers should instantly recognize you and what you stand for through your brand identity. With the right branding strategies and executing digital marketing strategies, you can easily generate the targeted ROI. Focus on building a brand for your business and you will see your business truly come alive.
For any business query, feel free to send us an email at shwetaj@bitwiseonline.com or call on +91 9879528311 , we will get back to you as soon as possible.
