What makes branding so crucial to a successful business?

Your brand represents you as a company and your promise to your customers. Good branding starts with a well designed logo, but can extend to many other important areas. In this article we will discuss the importance of having a well designed, strong brand for your new company.

Over the last 20 years I have seen many companies rise and fall, largely down to not making the revenue they expected when starting out. Many new businesses overlook critical points when starting up and one of these is design. If your product of service is so amazing and well recognised from the minute you start trading, then perhaps it wont make a difference whether you fail or succeed. But for most of us, a strong brand is what's going to get us recognised, remembered and possibly stay one step ahead of the competition.

Great branding equals recognition

When a company has a professionally designed logo and strong advertising, people's perception is usually of good customer service and a solid product or service. We all know of large successful companies who have taken the time and effort to hire a graphic designer and produced some memorable artwork to represent them. But how many large successful companies who haven't...not many spring to mind. This should be evidence enough for you to get this in position when you are trying to create a successful future.

Your logo is your world.

The one central component for your successful brand is your logo. Think how we instantly recognise the apple with a bite taken out of it, or the simple "tick" that is associated with all Nike products. Spending time and hiring a professional logo designer is imperative at this stage, as it will be on every piece of media, advertising, or product that you manufacture. A cleverly designed logo should be simple enough to be memorable, yet powerful enough to represent your core values and target audience.

Creating trust with your audience

Imagine you have two companies, selling exactly the same products, yet one has a beautiful logo, and all of their literature ties in with the basic design. The other company had either no logo, or a poorly designed one - which comany will you be drawn to. Obviously the well branded company, as emotional reactions are very powerful and are hardwired into all of us.

Good branding is conducive to good advertising

Advertising again, is vital to keeping ahead of your competition. You must choose your focus and media wisely. To narrow a window can leave you "pigeon holed" and restricted with future expansion. Too wide and you loose the potency of your message to your desired target audience.

Stand out from the crowd

You are not only competing on a local stage - in today's global marketplace you are up against hundreds, if not thousands of similar companies worldwide. If your brand fails to inspire, you will be brushed aside in seconds and your would be customer will simply hop over to the next company o the search engine. The opportunity to retain they customer was wasted due to a lack of trust and recognition. Set yourself apart from the rest of the bunch, with a creative and intuitive corporate Identity.

Branding & value are synergistic

When companies trade publicly on the stock exchange, they are valued many times over what their actual assets are worth. This is largely due to their strong branding and likelihood to be successful with repeat business. The perception of being this valuble in the eyes of prospective clients and other companies alike, will always be advantages to the owner. The bigger and better that brand of the company becomes, the more revenue it creates from this platform.

Branding inspires employees

At an employee level, a well recognised brand can help everyone look in the same direction. If you logo is regarding in high esteem from the general public, then a sense of pride can be felt throughout the workforce. This can also strengthen the entire company to work towards the same goals and direction. All successful brands spend time and effort promoting their brand internally. After all, everyone knows it's easier to sell something when you believe in it yourself.

Branding generates business

With brand development, we aim to create an identity that resonates with our target audience and essentially build on the emotional relationship on a personal level. These implied messages go a long way to convince someone that your company is the right one to do business with.

A little goes a long way

Your corporate identity will become the foundation of your entire marketing plan. It will be central to your website, printed literature, video production and all other media. Building your brand as strong and robust as you can will pay off ten fold in years to come. Rebranding can spell dissaster for an already strggling business, so make sure you hire a professional to get it right first time.

Ultimately, your brand isn't defined by you - it is defined by your audience.

Conclusion

As you can see, no matter the nature of your business and no matter how large or small your company is, branding is essential to everyone. A well branded company has already put their best foot forward and are likely to stand out from their competitors.
I you are interested in creating a winning brand for your company, why not contact Dreamkatcha for a free consultation. We'd love to set you off on the right foot towards success.