“Brands are psychology and science brought together.”
These are the words found in a Forbes article about why brand building is so important. But they’re words that a lot of new business owners don’t take to heart.
New business owners consider their product, their workers, sometimes even things like their office culture.
But they often skip the important step of building their brand, whether it’s because they think it’s going to grow organically or because they simply don’t realize that it’s a thing they should be doing.
This is a mistake, however, because these days brand marketing is more important than ever. Brand building does more than just jump-start a company.
It helps shape everything about a company. Brand building is what turns something from an idea into an actuality.
There are many reasons why a new business should focus on brand building. These are just a few of them.
People buy brands.
Of course, your main focus should be on producing a good product or service.
But that doesn’t mean that you should ignore brand image or marketing altogether. In fact, you might be surprised to know that brand image has as much of an effect on sales as the quality of the product does.
Studies show that six in ten people prefer to buy from brands that are familiar to them. Having a recognizable brand image is important to getting customers engaged with your products.
As a company that’s just starting out, your brand’s image won’t be recognizable without a lot of work on your end. That’s why it’s so important to start building now.
Having a brand that sticks out from the crowd can be the deciding factor in your success. A good product is good, but only if your potential customers are able to pick out of the crowd, to begin with.
Brands help you set goals.
Your brand image is more than just a single part of your company.
At the end of the day, your brand is your company. It is part of everything. It influences — and is influenced by — everything that you do.
Your brand should be very influenced by your company’s mission. What do you aim to accomplish? What values does your company hold above everything else? What audience are you trying to reach, and what do you have in common with them?
How do you want to relate to them, and how do you want them to see you?
These are things that you’re forced to think of when developing your brand. And they’re also very important to the development of your business as a whole. If you don’t know what your mission is, then your company will seem aimless and unsure.
Building your brand will help you find direction and set goals.
Brand building helps you identify your strengths.
When building a brand, you’ll have to ask yourself a very important question: “What can I do that no one else does?”
It should be no surprise to you that your potential consumers are asking the exact same question. And (obviously) in order to answer it, you need to know the answer.
Chances are, there are plenty of other companies that offer what you offer. But what makes your company stand out? Why should consumers choose you over them? And how do you let them know that without blatant sales?
Brand building will be key in figuring this out. And once you do, your brand will be able to communicate what you’ve found to your potential consumers. Your brand will be able to focus on your strengths, which is a key part of any good marketing strategy.
If you want consumers to notice you, you have to give them something that they aren’t getting anywhere else. A brand is how you let them know that you can offer that, while still relating to them and not coming across as greedy or self-absorbed.
Brand building lets you control your company’s image.
If you don’t develop it yourself, it will be up to potential consumers to craft your brand’s image.
This can often be bad for a budding company. Studies show that 95% of people will share a bad experience they have with a company, while only 87% share a good experience.
As a business, you can’t please everyone. Whether it’s because of an honest mistake or simply personal preference, you will occasionally have to deal with upset or displeased customers.
Hopefully, the number of happy customers outnumber them, but if you look on a product review, that won’t seem like the case.
If you leave things up to your consumers, the unhappy ones will often speak louder and more frequently than the happy ones. Your image will be more negative than positive.
Having a brand voice will help you mitigate that effect because you’ll be the one controlling the message. You’ll even be able to respond to the negative reviews, establishing yourself as someone who cares about their customers.
If you remain silent, you’ll come across as aloof, and possibly even untrustworthy. But you can’t start speaking as a company until you find your brand voice.
Brands create credibility.
According to one study, a brand name “can lend credibility to product efficacy and provide an assurance of quality, letting consumers know what they can expect when they buy a product.”
In short, people see brands as more credible.
If a company doesn’t have a clearly defined brand image, they don’t really seem like a company at all. The product that they’re trying to sell seems like it could have come from anywhere. Consumers are not convinced of its quality.
By contrast, a brand name and defined image help to establish authority in the area. A brand that looks like it knows what it’s talking about will be more effective than one that is ill-defined. A brand that takes notice of trends and uses them will look incredibly trustworthy.
A brand image can make or break your company’s success. People don’t want to buy products from a faceless, voiceless void. They want a brand that they can trust, one that feels like it really cares about them.
It isn’t just popular brands that benefit from this, either. That same study shows that people consistently rate brands that they like over popular brands. If you reach out to the right audience, you’ll get a loyal consumer base that will help you on your way to success.
Brands are long term.
Forbes said it best when it said, “Products have life cycles. Brands outlive products.”
No single product should be the thing to define a brand. Because no matter how fantastic the product, there’s a chance that it will eventually become obsolete. Either everyone who has need of the product will buy it, or the hype will die down, or maybe your product will simply not be needed anymore.
But the brand image will never go obsolete. While products are a very important short-term marketing technique, your brand image is the long term one, coloring every product launch and interview. It’s what connects all of your products. If your brand is successful and popular, your products will be, as well.
Your brand needs to stay consistent through the long term in order to be effective. That’s why it’s so important for you to start developing it when you start developing your business.
What helps to communicate a brand?
In a word: design.
There are many things that help to build your brand. Content is important, but the design is the thing that will really catch a potential consumer’s eye. Design elements will help convey your brand to people who are absently scrolling through social media.
Here are just a few design elements that can help to communicate your brand to your audience:
- Logos
- Website Design
- Business Cards
- Social Media
- Presentations
- Products (such as t-shirts)
- Product Labels
All of these things should be a part of your brand marketing strategy, making sure that you get your brand’s image out into the world. With these tools, you’ll be able to get your carefully crafted brand out into the market.
Design may even play a part in building your brand during the development stage. You can make sure that the brand’s logo carefully matches the tone and voice of your company.
How do I get those things?
You’re a business person, focused on your product. You don’t have the time — or possibly the expertise — to design logos and t-shirts. And if you’re just starting out, you might not have the money to hire a professional just yet.
But you can’t wait until you have the money to start building your brand. If you want a brand that’s effective, you have to start today.
How do you start building your brand that fits a startup budget?
Boonle is a great tool for business owners with any budget. Allowing you to hire US design students for freelance work, our service will help your brand get the design work it needs to be successful and effective.