In my experience, one of the most satisfying things about helping businesses with strategically-focused branding is when they begin to see the value in their investment.

The branding process can be daunting for a client, so guiding them through the branding process and helping them overcome their hurdles is rewarding when I hear that they have moved from :
 
‘We have a logo and some colours – what’s wrong with that?’
 
to
 
‘We have realised our branding is affecting our business and we can now see the value of a strong consistent identity – plus we now have the tools and resources and backup to empower our sales and marketing team to create compelling materials that drive our business growth.’
 
There are some important words in that second statement. A strong, consistent brand identity is critical to differentiating your business from the competition, to creating an engaging customer experience and to developing a positive business reputation.
 
I’m often asked why organisations should consider investing in branding, so here are my top 6 reasons why branding can improve your business.

1. Branding influences customer behaviour

We’re all consumers, so you’ll know from experience that you’re more likely to gravitate towards a brand that looks and feels consistent, and where you know what you’re going to get. A good brand strategy – and consequently, thoughtful visual branding influences your customers in several ways, including :

• Engages them with your product or service
• Encourages them to investigate your offering
• Builds long-term trust and brand loyalty
• Helps to increase sales-per-customer
• Increases referrals

2. Your brand is your identity

Creating a strong brand strategy that can be translated into your visual branding, the words you use and the service you deliver helps to give you a clear identity. The personality and values that you commit to in your brand strategy gives your customers clear expectations.
 
It also helps you, and anyone else working in your business, to live your values and provide a stand-out experience to your customers.

3. Branding makes you different from your competition

How do you stand out from the crowd ? We all work in competitive markets and, especially with the prominence of social media, we need to be able to differentiate ourselves from both direct and indirect competition.
 
Strong visual branding helps you to do this. It gives you a professional outlook, a consistent approach and a level of market visibility that your competitors may not have. And, as part of your wider brand strategy, it’s the starting point for your marketing and sales activities.

4. Branding helps your marketing messages

Marketing is – initially – all about generating awareness and interest in your business. Once you have that early engagement, you need to make sure you nurture your leads, onboard customers positively and deliver great customer service.
 
While your brand strategy will have identified your audiences and defined what they want to hear, your branding is the vehicle that delivers the message. From the colours they associate with you to the words you use, your branding helps your messaging to say the right things to the right people.

5. Branding can improve your business and help it grow

I often help businesses with rebranding projects at a point when they are ready to take their businesses to the next level. These businesses have had some form of visual identity for a while, and realise that, in order to support the next stage of growth, they need to think seriously about their brand strategy and how their visual identity represents them.
 
A strategic approach to brand and identity demonstrates a commitment to business success. It helps to build a consistent approach to market visibility and sales, and can support the move into a new market, or the launch of a new product. If your business is taking off, your brand needs to be at the forefront of your growth plans. 

6. Branding is good for your team

A good brand strategy doesn’t just consider external audiences – it is also important for your team. It should genuinely reflect your culture, so that both your customers and your staff all recognise the business in the same way. There are several important commercial benefits here :

• Staff retention improves
• Your people become brand ambassadors
• Easy to recruit the right people
• Morale is improved, allowing you to meet tough challenges
• People refer good candidates to your business
• Customer service improves

Is it time to think strategically about your branding ?

Branding is intrinsically linked with your overall business strategy. If you have a sales target, for example, you need to know how to get there. And that influences your marketing approach, your messages, the way you get in front of your target audience and how you want them to feel about you.
 
There’s significant value in having a focused brand strategy, and in translating that strategy into good quality, consistent visual branding. If you’re now ready to update or create branding that can improve your business, contact me today.