Why branding matters for your marketing.

Starting up a business is usually an expensive exercise and plenty of people ignore one of the first aspects of business in favour of a more D-I-Y approach. When someone looks at your website, products, business card; what is your brand saying to them? Branding is your first opportunity to build a connection with your customer, it is your first attempt at a first impression and it says a lot more about your business than you might think.

Let’s look at 5 reasons why branding is important to your business:

1. Build a great first impression: Your branding is your first opportunity to make a mark on a prospective customer. A strong brand will convey a brief snapshot of your business’ values, motivation, nature, products and services. When your branding is strong, you are more likely to build connections with your customers as they become more invested in brands that they can understand.
2. Branding supports marketing and advertising efforts: With clear company messaging, your employees are more aware of the direction of the business and this makes it easier for them to do their jobs. With a set style guide, marketing, advertising and design teams save immense amounts of time by not “guessing” the direction of their work. A consistent and set brand also build familiarity with potential customers and increases their awareness of your business.
3. Good brands sell more: Branding that is well designed for the target audience will attract the intended audience and therefore increase sales opportunities. Branding that customers believe in and are loyal to also develop brand ambassadors in the general community who willingly recommend your product or service to others. Recommendations from other people are one of the most powerful marketing tools out there.
4. Good branding creates legitimacy: Poorly designed brands are not likely to elicit feelings of authority or expertise and can end up affecting your bottom line. Great branding that targets well, is authentic and transparent gives a sense of trustability, authority and relevance.
5. Great branding sets you apart: What would be the point of trying to compete with similar businesses in your area, if you all look and present the same way? Many industries end up in this predicament and this causes confusion and frustration for customers. If your branding is similar to your competitors, it is also a risk; in that your company might end up with bad reviews or reputation from the actions of your competitors. With well crafted branding, you can immediately set your business apart from the competition.

Your branding tells your story and defines what you stand for. It tells customers what they can expect when they do business with you. Customers then form perceptions that go along with that - you are in control of the story that your brand is telling.

Branding is also not just your logo and how your website looks. It is your brand personality - how you interact with your customers, it is your brand messaging - what you say to your customers, it is your brand visuals - the style of how you appeal to your customers, it is even how your employees answer the phone and how complaints are dealt with. 

One of the most common mistakes made when starting a company, is failing to invest in branding at the start and failing to protect that investment through trademarking. A design straight out of a list of icons in Canva is never going to be able to be trademarked so you now run the risk of being unable to protect your brand. No one enters business with the intent of failing, yet this is surprisingly common and the effects on small business are enough to shut them down. 

Branding is an investment into your business, the future and your success. 

If you’d like help with your branding and marketing, you can book a marketing review here.

During the review, we’ll consider your business growth goals and current challenges limiting that growth. We’ll then create a marketing strategy in response that considers which marketing activities to prioritise, and when. Finally, with a clear marketing plan, we partner with you as your marketing agency to execute the activities and provide monthly reports on progress.

Don’t leave your marketing up to chance - book a marketing review with The Brand Shop, and get clear about how you continue to grow your business.