Discover The 7 Most Important Reasons Great Branding Matters
Struggling with where to start? For a step-by-step guide on assessing the power of your brand check out our free Brand Analysis Tool here.
Branding, branding, branding. If you’re new to the business, you’ll hear this word thrown around like confetti during Mardi Gras.
Odds are, you may only understand a fraction of what it really means…
If I say branding, you say: Designing a logo.
For most people, it stops there but branding is so much more than the act of designing a logo. Like the golden arches, a unique logo is vital to communicate your brand to your customers but a logo is not a brand nor is it an accurate representation of branding.
So, what is branding?
By definition, branding is “the promotion of a particular product or company by means of advertising and distinctive design.” Better said, branding is what your business needs to convert first-time buyers to long-term lovers and to break through the otherwise crowded hallway of competition.
Let’s take the fast-food giant Wendy’s as an example.
Today, they are known for their fresh burgers, salads, fries, and Frosty’s (oh how delicious that latter combo is) but this was not always the case. From their logo to their look and their voice to their values, Wendy’s branding has changed drastically.
While at one point they could be associated with old-fashioned, if you’ve followed them on Twitter, you’ll know that there is nothing old-fashioned about the way they throw shade at their competitors.
Great branding is a combination of what you say, how you say it, what you do, how you do it, and what you look like.
When done correctly, great branding creates distinction and helps customers and stakeholders know that it’s you.
Why does this matter? We’re glad you asked…
The reasons great branding matters
Here are 7 of the most important reasons great branding matters:
Great branding makes you memorable
Great branding inspires
Great branding increases conversion
Great branding improves employee retention
Great branding creates community
Great branding creates great experiences
Great branding will deliver growth
1. Great branding makes you memorable
Think about some of your favorite products. When you do, you can likely quickly conjure up images of what their logo and other design elements look like.
Think a little longer and you begin experiencing the positive emotion you’ve associated with that brand.
2. Great branding inspires
We all have dreams and aspirations of a certain something happening. It’s called hope.
To aid in their respective journey, customers look to brands to inspire this hope.
When done correctly, great branding influences a customer’s vision of what their life could be like when using your product or service.
3. Great branding increases conversion
A Harvard Business School professor by the name of Gerald Zaltman says that 95% of our purchasing decisions are made in our subconscious.
Humans are not as logical as we want to believe and are influenced tremendously by feelings.
Great branding has the potential to engage and spark emotion, in turn influencing what people buy.
4. Great branding improves employee retention
Listen, your brand isn’t just for your customers. Your brand is at the core of everything you do.
Great branding creates experiences and elicits emotion.
The best brands in the world use great branding to ensure that they create an environment that values all people and all roles helping them to attract and retain the best staff.
5. Great branding creates community
People love to connect with other people who value the same things they do.
Great branding accomplishes this by being an anchor for a set of beliefs and values people have in common with one another.
It creates and unites people into a community and gives them something to talk about in a way that a poorly executed brand will not.
6. Great branding creates great experiences
Nordstrom’s, Chick-Fil-A, and Disney all have something in common. They’ve created unique brand identities that help customers know exactly what to expect.
Nordstroms empowers all their staff to deliver superb customer service without needing manager permission to do it. Chick-Fil-A is known for its ability to move a herd of cars in just a few minutes all while saying “my pleasure.” The Walt Disney World Resorts are known for being the happiest places on earth.
Each has connected all aspects of their brand to ensure that the customer always knows what to expect resulting in great experiences.
7. Great branding will deliver growth
People love to share.
Strong branding boosts business growth by building trust with customers who in turn share their experience with other potential customers.
The best part is, the new customers will know exactly what to expect from end-to-end because you’ve built a consistent brand that people love.
Great branding is your business’s key to mattering
Branding isn’t something you should skimp on.
Assess all areas of your brand to determine where you need the most help.
A good branding expert can help you identify what needs the most work.
