Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room. Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon.
When it comes to the term branding, people often get confused about what it really means. Is it your visual identity? Ie: your logo, fonts and colours or is it something more? Today we are going to learn what branding really is.
Your brand is the way in which your business, products and services are perceived by those who view it. It isn’t a thing, you can’t see it, touch it or hear it. It’s intangible. Put simply, it’s your reputation.
Your brand is made up of a number of elements;
- Mission & Values
- Purpose & Affiliations
- Business Voice & Personality
- Competitive Advantage
Whilst your logo and visual identity are a part of your brand they are just marketing tools you can use to promote your brand. Just like advertising, packaging and you’re in-store or online experience.
Think about it like a teddy bear. Your visual identity is what your bear looks like; it’s the soft fur and googly eyes. Your brand, is the stuffing inside that gives your bear its shape and substance.
Branding is the process of giving meaning to your business, product or service. The exact same product could be offered by a number of different providers; however insits how your business sells your product that entices the customer to choose you over the competition.
Let’s use water as an example.
The ‘product’ is water, it’s the same no matter the name. The ‘Brand’ is Fiji Water. Fiji Water uses the tagline ‘Earth’s Finest Water’ to build an emotional connection with the consumer. It is this ‘convincing’ mechanism that defines the brand.
You might think branding is only relevant to big businesses like Coca-Cola and McDonalds but that just isn’t true. Any business can benefit from positive branding. Having a strong brand increases the likelihood of the customer choosing your product or service over your competitors. It also makes getting new customers easier.
When you have a great reputation it speaks for you.