All too often businesses and start-ups are so eager to develop great products and services that they forgo one of the most important first steps in building a business – branding. In today’s competitive online marketplace, branding has become the single most important part of helping your business differentiate itself from other competitors and connect with your target audience. Whether you work with an agency or choose to go it alone, it’s vital that your business puts quality time and effort into developing your brand identity. Below, we’ll discuss why good branding is so important for your business as well as what determines an effective brand and how an agency like Keza can help.
Why Branding is Important for Your Business
Branding goes far beyond a business name, logo, and design. It’s an integral part of each company’s core identity, voice, values, personality, character, and message. Branding is essential to developing and growing your business because allows your company to establish a unique identity and communicate your unique vision and values to consumers.
Above all, branding helps differentiate you from other businesses that offer similar products and services. In today’s crowded marketplace, consumers have what seems like an infinity of options to choose from when it comes to procuring the products and services they need. How do they decide who to buy from? This is usually answered by branding. Effective branding can help your business connect with buyers over your competition, especially when your competitors’ offerings are similar to yours.
Branding also plays a vital role in your marketing efforts. The goal of marketing is to influence consumer behavior. But this is nearly impossible to do if your business is not connected to your target audience through an effective brand.
Branding helps you develop a meaningful and emotional connection with consumers that enables you to motivate them, and then inspire them to act.
A great brand will allow your business to develop customer relationships that result in repeat business. For most companies, recurring business is an essential part of growth. Once you have developed a brand that connects with your target audience on a personal level, you can influence one-time customers to become loyal to the brand, and even advocate it. This type of loyalty results in not just repeat purchases but also public support and recommendation that goes a lot further than any advertising you can buy.
4 Key Elements of great Branding
When it comes to building your brand, there are a few factors that help you articulate what your business is all about. Here are the 4 key elements you need to establish for great branding:
1. POSITIONING
In the crowded online marketplace, you must set yourself apart from the competition if you want to earn your target market’s business. Your brand positioning is what differentiates your business from the others in your marketplace. This element communicates what your business excels at and what it’s passionate about.
2. VALUES
Consumers don’t exclusively choose a brand for the quality of their products and services. They also want to buy from a business that shares their core values. Your brand’s beliefs communicate the shared vision that everyone at your company is working toward. These values enable you to connect with customers on a meaningful level. This in turn earns their trust and their loyalty.
3. PROMISE
Your brands promise communicates your company’s benefits over the long-term, and what your business is committed to achieving. What do you want to be known for in your marketplace? What will you deliver to your customers and employees? This is your brand promise, and it helps your target audience understand what your brand is all about and what value ONLY you can provide.
4. PERSONALITY
If your company was an actual person, what kind of person would it be? Serious, intelligent, and professional? Fun-loving, helpful, and honest? Your brand personality gives you yet another chance to differentiate your business and connect with your marketplace. Consider which traits you want your business to portray while being mindful of your industry and brand position.
Should I Hire a Professional Agency?
Your brand is meant to be a long-term guide for your company’s core identity and an essential way to connect with your target audience. While some businesses may choose to tackle branding on their own, others will work with a branding agency to ensure they have a cohesive brand that tells a compelling story. An agency brings all the knowledge and expertise you need to see the bigger picture and bring your brand to life.
Partnering with a professional branding agency like Keza Media can help your company with the branding process from concept to completion, as well as provide ongoing brand management to ensure consistency. Contact Keza Media to elevate your brand.