If you’re underestimating branding chances are you aren’t hitting the levels of success you want to be. Why? Read on to find out more…
So what is branding? To start off, I’m going to tell you what branding ISN’T, just to get you started:
Branding isn’t a logo. It isn’t just your business card, your graphics, your Facebook cover image. It isn’t just a visual solution, as much as people assume it is. Yes, don’t get me wrong they do form the makeup of your brand but it’s not everything. Don’t fall into the trap of making this assumption.
Ok so if it’s not a logo, what is it exactly?
- Branding is your reputation. It’s what people say about you (your business) when you’re not in the room. Branding lives in the minds of your customers.
- Branding helps your customers make decisions in a crowded market. Otherwise everything would look the same and have the same values and that would just be boring.
- Branding is a strategic solution, the strategies you use to position yourself in the market is branding.
- Branding is all of the touch-points customers have with your business. It’s how you deal with those interactions that will form the opinions in your customers minds about whether or not they like you, and if they like you they will buy from you. Pissed a customer off? How many times have you heard of someone having a bad experience and then ‘swearing to never use that airline again’ or to ‘never go back there they were so rude’ or having such a bad meal in a restaurant that was overpriced to never return? Their mind is made up, and they won’t be retaining those customers as their regulars.
- There is visual branding too. Visual branding includes: Your logo, your colours, and anything that graphically represents your brand.
So why aren’t you hitting the levels of success you want to be?
- What you offer isn’t clear enough. You’re not communicating to your audience and your customers what exactly it is you do, and how you help solve their problem. Most businesses function this way, find the pain, and solve it. If you’re communicating that effectively to the people who want what you offer, you’re well on your way there.
- Help your audience, for free (in the beginning) give away something they find important. Help them out way before they ever purchase from you, and nurture the relationship (usually with the help of your newsletter) and eventually they’ll get to know you, trust you and then buy from you. If it’s between a customer who didn’t receive anything of value for free, and one who did, who do you think the customer is going to spend their money with?
- Is your sales generation strategy clear? A lot of the time it can be something so simple as your products aren’t easy to buy. Your offerings aren’t clear, and there isn’t a lead generation or sales funnel strategy. Did you know that 78% of businesses aren’t clear on their sales funnel? Funnels don’t have to be complicated things but that’s a topic for another post.
Implementing strategy to persuade and craft your brand is a key step to acquiring and retaining loyal customers for the long term.
It costs 10 x more to acquire a new customer than it does to keep and old one.
Real revenues are made with loyal customers, and this is the key reason why branding is so important.
You’re building a sturdy house from the floor up, you’re not building a flash in the pan make a stack of cash fast and then go back to working 9-5, are you? If you’re in business to really change peoples lives in a positive way and you want growth every year, brand strategy is the answer.
If you want to talk to me some more about brand strategy, graphic design or you just want to connect, please feel free to book in a call with me (no strings attached) I’d love to meet you! You never know what it might bring. Click here to be taken to my short survey so I can find out a little bit about you and then you’ll be taken to find a time to book in a call. Click here to book your 20 minute discovery session.
