What does branding mean to you? The term brand refers to a marketing strategy created to help a company’s current and potential customers identify that company and its products or services. A brand is a collection of often intangible characteristics that collectively represent the company and are the basis of its reputation. The brand helps to shape public perceptions of the company, its services and products and public-facing leaders. For those reasons, the brand is considered foundational to a business.

Brands commonly use certain attributes to help create an identity or personality to distinguish the brand and add to its appeal. A powerful brand identity attracts the loyalty and trust of a company’s customers and that usually results in purchases made, as fans of the brand seek to associate themselves with attributes they find desirable. A good brand brings enormous value to the company, giving it a competitive edge over others in the same industry. Many business entities provide legal protection for their brand by obtaining trademarks for the company name, logo design and slogan.

An effective and compelling brand generates memorable, lasting impressions. Developing a respected brand is integral to business success. Consistent communication of your company’s brand can enhance and solidify its reputation, revenues, profits and long-term viability.

Business owners and leaders are advised to continually evaluate the perception and performance of the company brand. Without careful stewardship, it’s possible to unintentionally weaken or muddle your company’s identity and get lost in the weeds regarding the messaging, priorities, values and practices that loyal customers trust and expect.

Therefore, devising a branding strategy to monitor the impact of your company brand is essential. Consistent promotion of the brand is key to launching and sustaining a company that current and potential customers regard as memorable, recognizable, dependable and trustworthy.

If building, enhancing, or refreshing your company brand, or if rebranding is your goal (perhaps in response to a pivot), follow these four steps:

• Determine the target audience for your company’s products and services
• Position your product and business in the marketplace–premium, mid-market, budget, or green, for example
• Define your company’s personality—trend-setter, carefree, athletic, or folksy, for example
• Create a logo, choose signature colors and devise a slogan/ tag line.

Effective branding involves developing a brand identity that carries through across all of your marketing platforms and consumer touch points. Everything from graphic design to content development, web design to email signatures should communicate your company’s brand identity. That way, from first to last impressions, your customers will know exactly who you are as a brand.

Everything embodied in your brand, from logo design to value propositions, should represent who you are, what you do and your fundamental brand personality to the customers who encounter your business. A successful and memorable brand image is one of the best ways to differentiate yourself from the competition and ensure that customers come knocking on your door. Branding is an opening to so many business opportunities. A robust brand strategy will help you:

Establish credibility

Building customer trust and loyalty for the company and its products and services is the purpose of branding. Communicating the brand consistently, at every customer touch point, demonstrates a business’s credibility and encourages brand loyalty in the process. Consistent marketing messages that deliver on promises and expectations reassure customers and prospects of the experience they can expect from doing business with your company.

Stand out in competitive marketplace

Branding gives a business the opportunity to stand out from its competitors. Use your branding strategy to differentiate your company from the competition. Develop a brand persona that resonates with your target market and promote it relentlessly, through verbal and visual messaging, pricing, packaging, advertising media choices (the publications or social media platforms that you use, for example) in a way that speaks directly to your target market.

Project a trustworthy and professional image

Consistent communication of the company’s brand persona makes the business look professional. The best way to maintain a comprehensive branding strategy is to create a set of branding guidelines (a.k.a, a brand book). Your brand book will function as a reference library that documents your defining brand symbolisms, including the brand name, narrative, logo, text fonts, color schemes, images and even the theme song, if applicable.

Increase customer loyalty and customer referrals

If customers gravitate to your brand persona and values, they are more likely to buy. Furthermore, they’re more likely to become repeat customers who share their enthusiasm for your products and services with friends and family members. Great branding is a launchpad for increased sales, customer loyalty and referrals. Compelling and consistent verbal and visual messaging is the key to attracting a loyal customer base for your business.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: The Reddit logo was designed by the company co-founder Alexis Ohanian