When most people think of branding, they think of the visual identity of a business. This can be expressed through a brand logo, name, packaging, the company’s overall design, etc.
What many don’t know, however, is that branding has evolved since the concept was seen just as an aesthetic component to a business.
Branding marketing establishes familiarity and reassurance for your customers, promotes brand awareness and makes you stand out amongst the competition.
All in all, your branding is a critical element in your business’ marketing strategy that you can’t afford to underestimate. That is why we’ve decided to spread the word of the magnificent power branding marketing holds and why it is so important to maximize its potential.
Definition of Branding
Before we dive into why branding marketing is so important, let’s first go over what branding actually is.
The world of marketing has significantly transformed over the years, and so has the concept of branding– which makes its definition more ambiguous than ever.
To make things simple, we’d define branding as the process of identifying, creating and administering the accumulative assets and actions that shape the image of a brand in the minds of its audience.
For example, when we think of a massive brand like Target, what colors first come to mind? Red and white, right? We can also imagine their logo, the interior of the store, the familiar and consistent aesthetic of their products and so on.
Basically, if you want to make an impact with your branding marketing, you should be striving for that immediate familiarity with your target audience.
What is the Importance of Branding in Marketing?
The type of business branding you use can either make or break the results you are going to get in your marketing strategy.
Powerful and authentic branding marketing will increase brand value, create a positive perception of your brand and inevitably drive in new business. Lackluster branding marketing, however, will do quite the opposite.
Remember, the reputation of your business manifests itself whether it’s intentional or not. That is why branding is such a great tool because it allows you to take complete authority over what that reputation looks like.
We’ve touched a bit on the power of branding, but let’s expand on the topic more. Here are some key elements that make branding marketing so significant.
It Can Motivate a Buyer to Make Purchase
Great branding gives your prospects a reason to buy your product. It’s as simple as that.
But how can we convince them to commit? The keyword here is communication.
Businesses that can communicate a clear brand promise are the ones that will turn prospects into buyers. This brand promise can consist of selling the product(s) value or expressing the pain points it can solve to your target market.
What’s even more important than your brand promise is ensuring that you are consistently delivering on that promise over time. This will establish a level of familiarity and trust with your customers that you can’t take for granted.
It Emotionally Connects Target Prospects with Your Product
We now know how communicating your brand’s promise is essential in buyers making a purchase, but how can we reel them in emotionally?
Incorporating emotional elements into your branding marketing is one of the most effective ways to grab your target audience’s attention and convert them into customers.
Emotional branding can be done by creating content that appeals to a prospective customer’s emotional state, needs, ego and aspirations.
It’s essentially a way to subconsciously stir up motivation in a person to purchase through their natural desires for love, emotional security, empowerment, gratification… the list goes on.
This method can be over 50 percent more effective compared to non-emotionally based branding.
At Business Marketing Engine, we’ve helped a variety of businesses optimize their branding marketing strategies. Contact us today to learn more about what we can do to grow your business.
It Increases Business Value
Branding plays a big role in elevating your business to a more reputable territory that emulates a higher value amongst consumers.
When we say value, it can be anything from the brand image and its influence to even a more financial standpoint such as price premiums and monetary value. Both approaches are critical to utilize when increasing the value of your brand.
It Generates New Customers
Effective branding marketing will generate new customers without having to sell their product(s) themselves. Their existing customers will do that for them.
You should never underestimate the power of customer referrals. It enhances your brand’s reputation and drives in more revenue. This is easier to accomplish when your brand is more established and you’ve got enough loyal customers to back you up.
If you feel like you haven’t gotten to the point where word-of-mouth will serve you, you will need to prioritize selling the concept of your brand to your target market to accumulate more awareness and appeal.
Gains Trust Within the Marketplace
Establishing a level of trust with your target audience is crucial in generating leads, converting them into customers and maintaining their loyalty to your brand. Without trust, you’re going to have trouble getting buyers, especially ones that stick with you.
Consumers are constantly comparing products and determining which ones are worth the investment and which ones aren’t. With proper branding marketing, you will be able to ease their minds the instant they come across your company– and it’s as simple as sticking to the promise you gave them from the get-go.
You told your customers that your back massager will ease back pain? It better do so. You told your customers that your online tutoring service will give their children better grades at school? It better work. Whatever your product is, provide the results to back it up.
It Creates Loyal Customers and Followers
When the trust in your brand is there, your new customers will transform into loyal customers that will favor you over your competitors.
Loyal customers have the potential to be a lifelong source of income for your business. They can buzz about you to their friends and family, which in turn, rings in more customers. So we can’t stress enough how essential they are in creating longevity in your business.
Attracts Top-Quality Talent
At this point, we know a lot about why branding is important for the consumer, but what about potential employees?
When you’re looking for a job, are you more likely to pick the job with a brand that has an appealing, well put together image with a mission statement that excites you?
Or, are you going to choose the job with a brand that has a super vague mission statement with a logo and design that makes you cringe?
The answer is obvious… and it’s all dependent on the quality of your branding. Great talent is attracted to great branding.
Engages and Aligns Your Team
No one wants to work for a company that doesn’t stand by what its brand represents. But if you practice what you preach, not only will your customers be your stakeholders, but so will your employees.
Great brand marketing has the power to turn even your team into loyal customers or promoters of your products or services. When your employees believe in your brand, it makes it easier for them to sell it to others. It gives them a sense of pride where they work and makes working for your company more enjoyable and fulfilling.
Engaging your team through your brand can also ignite more employee involvement, motivate them to pursue leadership roles and ultimately, elevate your business performance to new heights.
There’s No Need to Over Think It
An effective branding market strategy isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. A lot of it is common sense and should be intuitive of your target market and its needs.
As long as you have a solid understanding of that, you’ll naturally be in-tune with your vision and how it can help fill up a gap in the market.
However, it isn’t easy to do it alone.
At Business Marketing Engine, we take pride in finding you the perfect solution that will enhance your brand and take your business to the next level.
To learn more about how our customizable marketing strategies can help you achieve all of your business goals and more, contact us today!
