Businesses that don’t focus on branding either don’t know exactly what it is or don’t see why it is important for them to care about it.
Branding is everything when it comes to your business’s success.
From the moment the customer is introduced to your business to the follow-up, people are painting a picture in their mind of what’s your business looks like based on the experience they had along the way.
You don’t have to have the fanciest logo in the world and the most thought-out business name, but if people don’t have a positive experience when it comes to engaging with your brand, it’s game over.
You want to leave a positive impact on everyone who comes into contact with your brand, meaning that you have to be conscious of everything you do and everything seen by the public eye.
When Batman puts on his cape, he becomes Batman, and everything he does after that aligns with your perception of who he is.
Today we will be talking about the importance of branding and who your business is when it puts on its cape.
Why Is Branding Important For Your Business?
How do people see you compared to everyone else in your industry?
Are you the Oreo in your area of expertise, or are you referred to as the “generic” brand?
The only real difference between you and your competitors is the story people tell themselves about your brand.
Your brand means everything; it distinguishes you from your competitors and gives people a good reason to come back for more in the future.
No matter what industry you are in, the reputation your business holds means everything and influences many defining factors like:
Branding Tells Your Story Immediately
Every touchpoint a person has with your business adds a new sentence that defines the perception of who you are in their mind.
Keeping your brand message on point and congruent everywhere you are found helps solidify your real purpose and message.
Think of Apple and how they present themselves to the public.
When you hold one of their products, you feel as if you are holding something expensive.
They make high-end luxury electronics that people love using.
When you browse products on their website, you are presented with a congruent experience to what you would expect to find with luxury.
Everything is over the top and makes you feel as if the quality is seeping through your screen.
When you talk to a service tech over the phone, they always seem to be happy and make you feel like they genuinely care.
Through all of their efforts in creating a story that will stick in the minds of their consumer, they have generated a large following filled with diehard fans and users that will line up at a moment’s notice to buy their next, latest and greatest product to hit the market.
Branding Builds An Emotional Connection
People buy with emotion.
Your story helps create an emotional connection between what you offer the world and the customer who purchases it.
Once your customers feel like they are apart of something bigger than themselves, they will never forget you over the other options out there.
Make your brand so compelling to be apart of that people naturally gravitate towards it.
Show that you understand what they want and need the most.
Frequently, The emotion created between your brand and your customer will stick around for years to come.
It won’t happen immediately, but if you follow through consistently and make content that surrounds your brand and the image you are trying to create and inevitably, people will feel more emotionally attached to your brand.
Branding Gathers A Culture Of Like-Minded Values (both team and employees)
People become who they are around and the environment they are in.
And people naturally like to surround themselves with people just like them.
If you want to have good employees, then branding yourself as a company that focuses on the qualities you value and reinforces them.
Create an environment focused on positive growth and development that pique the interest of the people you want to work with.
More and more people with the right personality will stumble through your doorway for a chance to work with you and join your journey towards achieving like-minded goals.
The same concept can be applied on the other side of the spectrum for customers.
Depending on the movement you are trying to make with your product or service, if people resonate with your brand’s message and culture around the message, they’re more likely to get part of it.
Have you ever heard of a Spartan Race before?
It’s a huge event where hundreds or even thousands of people gather and participate and get outside of their comfort zone together.
The race is filled with obstacles that you and all of the people around you have to overcome.
There’s a unique camaraderie surrounding the events, and everyone is on the same mental high as you are.
Everyone is excited to participate and even more excited to finish and be drained entirely afterward to cheers their ceremonial beer.
Make your business a brand that people want to surround themselves with and play a role in its success.
Branding Increases The Likelihood Of Referrals
When people have a good experience with your brand, they are more likely to spread the word so that other people just like them can have an experience similar.
When you talk to a friend or family member and bring up a problem that they’re having, you usually try to think back to a time when you had a similar situation and the solution you used for that problem, right?
If your problem had a solution that involves a brand that you had a good experience dealing with, the odds are that you will happily share the name of the business you want to for that problem.
This is just a natural response that happens.
When you have a good experience, you are others around you have a similar experience.
That’s why we refer the email marketing software Sendfox to our readers and to anyone looking for an excellent email service that won’t cost an arm and a leg while giving a fantastic experience with their easy-to-use platform.
Noah Kagan reeled me into the service with the price, and to my surprise, I enjoyed using it because of how easy it was.
And just like that, the natural cycle of referrals keeps flowing.
Focus on providing an excellent experience for your customers, and you will start to see the referrals funneling in.
Branding Builds Trust
Trust is earned, not bought.
The only way your customers will trust you more is by staying committed to your core values publicly over time and never faltering.
Make it clear that you are the solution to their problem by focusing on the experience you provide and the product you produce.
People give trust to brands who want more than just their money.
If you can demonstrate that you are the go-to brand every step of the way, then there’s a high chance that customers will return and maybe even tell their friends.
One example of this is Michelin Tires; they have been around for a hundred and Thirty-One years.
Over that period, they have focused on and mastered the skill of giving more than their customers paid for.
They’re such a well-known brand that they are likely to be the manufacturer to pop in your head when you think of tires.
That is from focusing on making a lasting impression on each customer over the past 131 years and sticking to their core values.
Why Branding Is More Important Now Than Ever
There are so many businesses out there in each particular industry that it’s hard to stand out if you do not make it clear that you are there to stay.
Your brand’s image is everything these days, and if you do not have a clear message and vision, they will most likely go and do business with your competitor that does.
Focus on the quality that you can provide to every person that comes through your door, and eventually, the word will get around, and more people come to check out what the noise is all about.
This is worth taking a moment to think about.
How do you want your brand to be seen by those who stumble upon it?
Do you want to be known as a company with terrible customer service or never answers the phone or never reply to an email?
Or do you want to be the company that is there when needed to provide support and guidance to anyone and everyone interested in your business?
Think about how you want people to refer to you in conversation.
Whether you like it or not, there will be conversations, and you have the power to help influence how that conversation will go.
Actively take a step and write down everything that you think could be done better to improve the customer experience you provide.
If you want to become the next apple of your industry, then start playing the role you may have to be seen as an industry thought leader like that.
Or if there are any other companies that you have an interest in because of positive experiences you’ve had, go check out what they are doing and make a list of things that you could bring into your own business to implement.
Conclusion
Your branding is everything when it comes to the way people think about you and precedes to do business with you over time.
People do business with the brands that make them feel like they are part of the cause and helping towards a common goal.
Branding affects all parts of your business and determines the amount of success you have over the long term.
Thanks for hanging out with us today and learning about why branding is important for your business.
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