Brand your Business like a Boss

Branding plays an integral role in any business albeit a SME (small or medium sized enterprise) or whether you run a larger corporation. Your brand is the very “soul” or “core” of your business and will be one of the first things that come to mind when people think about your business.

So, in this post, we want to help you understand the very basics of branding for your business, as it will be a big part of your business for as long as you have it.

What makes a business brand?

There are several factors that constitute a business brand and these are essential to establish in order for your business to thrive as that brand. People recognise a brand because after successfully establishing it, the brand becomes unforgettable.

This is also why it has to be good and live up to its promises, as people will forever associate the business brand to its reputation. In the long run, this can have either a positive or a negative effect on the business as a whole.

A brand is different

In the world of entrepreneurship, there are many markets, and a business establishment will take on a brand that best suits the industry and image that it wants to portray. However, to establish a good brand you have to be different from the competition.

It’s often a difficult task to differentiate your business from another especially when you’re in the exact same industry. One of the key aspects to achieving this step is to focus and consistently market what makes your business different from your competition.

Here are some examples of how you can market your brand so that you stand out from the rest:

• Give customers a few years more warranty on a product
• Reward your customers with extras
• Deliver quality that is unmatched
• Give your customers market competitive prices

The list does not end there, with time; you’ll find what works for your brand.

It is important to note that the chances of your competition thinking about the very same “perks” for their customers are evident. For this reason, you have to rely on the power of persistence to help you take your stance in the ever-competing market.

Have you ever purchased an item for some months or years and suddenly you notice the quality isn’t the same? That’s what we mean, hence persistence is key.

A brand is creative

You have to work on creativity for customers to remember why your brand is important and why they need it. Thriving enterprises are dedicated to creativity and the way you can achieve this is to incorporate breaks, seek inspirations and embrace failure.

Sometimes working non-stop at a project may not be as successful as when you take the time to recollect your thoughts and remove yourself from the situation entirely. Inspiration often arrives when you’re not even in your work environment.

A brand connects with people’s emotions

Businesses often use emotions to help connect with customers or potential customers. Examples of emotional connection can be in a positive or negative way.

An example of a negative association may be a natural disaster wreaking havoc in a region, but then there are helpful insurance companies who come to the aid of these families.

It maintains a sense of uniformity

When it comes to marketing your brand, you want to bear in mind that uniformity is important. If you’ve chosen your colours, decals, images that represent your brand, then using these throughout the marketing process is essential to avoid a clash or confusion with your potential customers.

Take a comic hero like Superman, for example, he is known for the red, yellow, and blue colours in his suit and people associate this to him.

It is evident in the company culture

It’s true that the employees you have need to represent the business in all aspects, this includes standing true to the brand. Let’s take a skincare brand for example, the employees should have great looking skin and it should glow with health as this represents the brand’s image.

Why is your brand so important to your business image?

There’s a fine line when it comes to marketing and branding, and in many cases, the two can be confused or treated as the same thing.

Knowing the difference is vital; as it will help, you to focus your efforts towards each in their respective right. With that being said, you’d be able to execute the marketing strategy better as well as the business branding aspects.

Telling the difference between marketing and business branding

Marketing

Emotional tactic

Marketing is used to drive sales; hence, it will appeal to customers’ needs and desires. For example, selling a beauty product and making customers know that with “X skincare product”, you will have glowing skin and look younger. Marketing strategies often play on the customer or potential buyer’s feelings and emotions, this is what many advertisements do whether on TV, media, or in print.

AIDA

The act of using emotions falls in place with the AIDA principal, which is to:

• Attract – rope potential customers in
• Interest – hold their interest so that they can further observe what’s on offer
• Desire – stir up the need to want the product
• Action – call to action words (prompt them to purchase the product)

Marketing has seen lots of success over the years using this simple strategy and it helps to increase sales when implemented correctly.

Listen to the brand

Before the marketing department can execute the advertising tactics and reach customers, it has to adhere to the brand’s standards.

What the brand is about is what’s going to create the basis of the adverts used in marketing. From logos to slogans, all of these will take its queue from the brand itself.

Branding

Branding takes a strategic approach because is carries the business image. In other words, even once the marketing is completed, and no longer actively in place, the brand is what people remember about the business.

Another way one could summarise the branding definition is by the fact that certain key aspects determine it:

• Customer experience – did the product serve the customer well? This often determines whether that customer will purchase the brand again.
• Was it reliable – this goes hand-in-hand with customer experience because it will influence whether or not the product or service is used and purchased again.
• Delivers upon promise – did the marketer or producer of the product deliver as they promised? Do you get excellent customer service and long-term use of the brand?

Loyalty

Another one of the key factors that set a business brand apart from its marketing counterpart is the fact that it has the ability to create loyalty. Customers are often loyal to good brands that they’ve grown to rely on and trust. For instance, if you had a good experience with brand “X”, you may feel inclined to continue buying their products and even go as far as recommending the brand to your friends and family.

Spending pays off

While some folks may consider branding as an expensive feature of their business, and yes lots of money goes into marketing a brand. Costs may include training staff to offer better customer service as well as be knowledgeable about the products. Branding costs may also include the money spent on advertisements as this tie into its marketing because you can’t really market without the strategy of a brand.

So yes, it can cost the business quite a bit of money and this takes years if you want to establish a solid customer base. In the end, your returns are rewarded in loyal customers who are willing to only buy your brand and convince their friends and family to do so too. A loyal customer base is truly satisfying, boosting sales without much effort in the marketing department.

Branding tips

A business brand has to bear the following in mind as these all form part of the actual branding strategy.

Starting your brand

Before you start, you need to develop a character for your brand, almost like its very own personality if you will. This will lead how you speak to your customers (tone) in which your posts are written, the colours you use, slogan and lots more. Let’s have a closer look at some more things to consider when creating your brand.

Target market

When considering the target market, you want to consider whom you want to address. For example, are you addressing pregnant women, young teenagers, car enthusiasts, gamers etc? Your market can be virtually anyone. Once you’ve established who your target audience or market is, it will set the tone for your branding strategy.

Another thing to note is that companies who establish a strong brand like some of the giants we know today can actually charge more for their product because of the quality. Customers will pay more for the brand they know and trust as opposed to generic brands.

Your brand’s core

This is the part you will dig deep into the core of your brand and ask yourself, what you want to present. Who and what your business truly stands for. Some key questions to ask yourself when developing your business brand is the following:

1. What is the mission of your company?
2. What benefits do you offer your customers if they choose your brand over your competitors?
3. Can you tell what your customers think about you? Are you setting the right impression and delivering on your promise?
4. How do you want your customers to see your brand?

Get the help you need

When creating your business brand it’s important to remember that there is absolutely nothing wrong in seeking professional help to aid you with your endeavours. There are many highly skilled professionals who specialise in this type of thing and 9 out of 10 times, you’re more likely to do much better with professional help than trying to juggle everything by yourself.

The Takeaway

Marketing and branding are entities in their own right, however, they can be used to help boost sales and promote the business. As discussed in this post, each of the two has their very own methods with one being strategic and the other a tactical approach.

Either way, SEM businesses can hugely benefit with their branding and marketing processes in place. Building brand awareness within the business amongst the staff members is essential to continue delivering the excellence and quality promised to the customers.

As always, it takes the assistance of professional marketing teams to help companies put their best foot forward. This is largely to do with the fact that business owners although they may know their product and end goal, they may need the assistance of individuals who can assist on a “deeper level”.

This means getting the assistance from people who have a deeper knowledge and a constant finger on the pulse of trends and new tactics in the world of marketing.

The great thing is, if your branding has grown stale, or no longer represents your core message, you can always re-brand to highlight the best qualities of your product or services.