Branding Basics: What and Why
Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2025 6:30 am
Your brand is how your customers, competitors, and community perceive you. The branding decisions you make now will shape customer perceptions, determine the trajectory of your business, samoa b2b leads and guide every decision you make. That’s why it’s important to take your time with this step.
What is branding?
Branding is the process of creating a distinct business identity in the minds of the target audience. Branding consists of the company name and logo, visual design, mission, values, and tone of voice.
A brand is also defined by the quality and uniqueness of your products, the quality of customer service you provide, and even your pricing strategy.
How is branding achieved?
Activities such as creating a website, developing advertising and marketing materials, choosing a color palette that is associated with the business, creating a brand logo, interacting with customers via chat, and posting comments on social media set the tone for the brand. The first interactions already shape people's perception of the business.
Branding is market-specific, meaning that no matter what you do, consumers will have an impression of your business based on their interactions. However, this image is best controlled through targeted branding and a thoughtful brand strategy.
What is the purpose of branding?
The purpose of branding is to help customers understand what you offer and what you stand for through effective positioning. Great branding reflects the unique selling proposition (USP), the brand’s mission and values, and the brand’s story. All of this helps customers decide whether the business meets their needs and values.
Why You Should Take Branding Seriously
When a potential customer first sees your packaging or visits your website, they form an impression of your brand. That’s why it’s important to set the tone early before you create the wrong impression.
Ultimately, what customers think and say about a brand is true. It’s the feeling they leave with based on their experience with you, good or bad.
Effective branding requires a strategic plan that includes clear branding guidelines that will guide every decision made, impact every customer, and be guided by a clear set of values and goals.
How to create a brand
Branding is more than just choosing a company name and designing a logo. It involves much more. Successful branding is consistent throughout, from the first contact with the customer to the last.
Let's look at the branding elements that should be considered when creating a brand.
1. Define your mission and values
The mission is the north star of a business, and it should be prominent in the business plan and brand guidelines to ensure that all other decisions are made correctly. During the branding process, you should also focus on brand values that are non-negotiable as you grow and scale. This ensures that the brand remains strong even as things like the logo or products evolve.
2. Define your brand voice and tone
Simply put, it’s the way your brand communicates. In line with branding best practices, take the time to tone down your voice in all your communications, from public service announcements to customer service emails. Is it playful and funny? Serious and soothing? Educational and confident? Decide whether you’ll use certain slang or not. Understanding how your target audience communicates will help you figure out how to hone your brand voice and tone.
3. Create a brand story
Storytelling is an important element of branding strategy. Consumers, especially those who engage in social commerce, seek authenticity in brands. Telling a story — whether it’s the origin story of a brand or the story of a founder — humanizes a brand, gives a face to the business, and increases trust in the brand. Tell a story on your website, on social media, and wherever you interact with customers.
4. Develop a corporate identity
Brand identity refers to the visual aspects of a brand. A visual branding exercise should begin with a mood chart or word association chart that will help define the brand’s atmosphere or mood (what do you want people to feel when they interact with you?). This will make it easier to determine the colors, fonts, and other visual elements that represent the brand.
Additionally, your brand will need a unique, memorable business name. You can choose something personal, like your own name, something creative, like a made-up word, or something obvious that will tell customers what you sell. Make sure you can find a suitable domain name and available social media accounts to go along with your name choice.
Benefits of Creating a Brand
Branding is a foundational exercise that will guide every decision you make, from creating new product collections to sending out emails. Clear branding guidelines will change as you evolve, helping you maintain a consistent vision even as you hire or enter new markets.
Other benefits of building a strong brand include:
Potential for increased sales
Attracting target customers and desired audience
Customer loyalty and recognition
Help create a clear and inspiring mission or purpose for the entire company
Helping to create a strong corporate culture where employees enjoy working
Attracting the best specialists for business development
Create a strong brand image that will help you stand out from the competition
More opportunities to collaborate with brands and creators who want to be like you
Attracting press and social media mentions
Involving employees, agencies and contractors who act on behalf of the business
Branding Strategy and Recommendations
The strategy and guidelines developed during the branding process must take into account all the ways and places the brand will be presented in the world. As you develop brand guidelines and refine your strategy, be sure to consider these aspects.
Store environment and atmosphere
Consider how the brand will be represented in training materials. Clear guidelines on how employees should treat customers will help represent the brand in interactions. Do you want to be known for excellent customer service and a personalized shopping experience? Consider how the brand will help you achieve this.
Products and prices
The products you sell and how you price them can show customers what the brand is about. Are the products known for being high-quality? Are they unique or niche? How does the brand reflect this?
Product packaging can also tell a lot about a brand’s story, even when shoppers stumble across it in a retail store. Consider how you can represent your brand outside the context of your online presence.
Marketing, PR and cooperation
Effective advertising is crucial to increasing brand awareness. Messages to the target audience must directly address their pain points, problems and needs.
You should also consider public relations as part of your branding strategy. How you respond to challenges or crises can make or break your brand. Include worst-case scenarios in your plan, detailing how you will act in the public eye.
Collaborations and sponsorships can be a great way to introduce your brand to new audiences. But not every opportunity will be the best fit for your brand. Decide which organizations or events you’ll sponsor, as well as which companies or creators you’d ideally like to partner with.
Conclusion
You don’t have to run a multinational corporation to attract the attention of your target audience to your brand. You won’t always succeed, but the costs of not investing in your brand far outweigh the potential negative consequences. And you can always make adjustments as you go. Create a brand that delivers on its promises, speaks the language of your ideal customer, and leaves a lasting positive impression.
What is branding?
Branding is the process of creating a distinct business identity in the minds of the target audience. Branding consists of the company name and logo, visual design, mission, values, and tone of voice.
A brand is also defined by the quality and uniqueness of your products, the quality of customer service you provide, and even your pricing strategy.
How is branding achieved?
Activities such as creating a website, developing advertising and marketing materials, choosing a color palette that is associated with the business, creating a brand logo, interacting with customers via chat, and posting comments on social media set the tone for the brand. The first interactions already shape people's perception of the business.
Branding is market-specific, meaning that no matter what you do, consumers will have an impression of your business based on their interactions. However, this image is best controlled through targeted branding and a thoughtful brand strategy.
What is the purpose of branding?
The purpose of branding is to help customers understand what you offer and what you stand for through effective positioning. Great branding reflects the unique selling proposition (USP), the brand’s mission and values, and the brand’s story. All of this helps customers decide whether the business meets their needs and values.
Why You Should Take Branding Seriously
When a potential customer first sees your packaging or visits your website, they form an impression of your brand. That’s why it’s important to set the tone early before you create the wrong impression.
Ultimately, what customers think and say about a brand is true. It’s the feeling they leave with based on their experience with you, good or bad.
Effective branding requires a strategic plan that includes clear branding guidelines that will guide every decision made, impact every customer, and be guided by a clear set of values and goals.
How to create a brand
Branding is more than just choosing a company name and designing a logo. It involves much more. Successful branding is consistent throughout, from the first contact with the customer to the last.
Let's look at the branding elements that should be considered when creating a brand.
1. Define your mission and values
The mission is the north star of a business, and it should be prominent in the business plan and brand guidelines to ensure that all other decisions are made correctly. During the branding process, you should also focus on brand values that are non-negotiable as you grow and scale. This ensures that the brand remains strong even as things like the logo or products evolve.
2. Define your brand voice and tone
Simply put, it’s the way your brand communicates. In line with branding best practices, take the time to tone down your voice in all your communications, from public service announcements to customer service emails. Is it playful and funny? Serious and soothing? Educational and confident? Decide whether you’ll use certain slang or not. Understanding how your target audience communicates will help you figure out how to hone your brand voice and tone.
3. Create a brand story
Storytelling is an important element of branding strategy. Consumers, especially those who engage in social commerce, seek authenticity in brands. Telling a story — whether it’s the origin story of a brand or the story of a founder — humanizes a brand, gives a face to the business, and increases trust in the brand. Tell a story on your website, on social media, and wherever you interact with customers.
4. Develop a corporate identity
Brand identity refers to the visual aspects of a brand. A visual branding exercise should begin with a mood chart or word association chart that will help define the brand’s atmosphere or mood (what do you want people to feel when they interact with you?). This will make it easier to determine the colors, fonts, and other visual elements that represent the brand.
Additionally, your brand will need a unique, memorable business name. You can choose something personal, like your own name, something creative, like a made-up word, or something obvious that will tell customers what you sell. Make sure you can find a suitable domain name and available social media accounts to go along with your name choice.
Benefits of Creating a Brand
Branding is a foundational exercise that will guide every decision you make, from creating new product collections to sending out emails. Clear branding guidelines will change as you evolve, helping you maintain a consistent vision even as you hire or enter new markets.
Other benefits of building a strong brand include:
Potential for increased sales
Attracting target customers and desired audience
Customer loyalty and recognition
Help create a clear and inspiring mission or purpose for the entire company
Helping to create a strong corporate culture where employees enjoy working
Attracting the best specialists for business development
Create a strong brand image that will help you stand out from the competition
More opportunities to collaborate with brands and creators who want to be like you
Attracting press and social media mentions
Involving employees, agencies and contractors who act on behalf of the business
Branding Strategy and Recommendations
The strategy and guidelines developed during the branding process must take into account all the ways and places the brand will be presented in the world. As you develop brand guidelines and refine your strategy, be sure to consider these aspects.
Store environment and atmosphere
Consider how the brand will be represented in training materials. Clear guidelines on how employees should treat customers will help represent the brand in interactions. Do you want to be known for excellent customer service and a personalized shopping experience? Consider how the brand will help you achieve this.
Products and prices
The products you sell and how you price them can show customers what the brand is about. Are the products known for being high-quality? Are they unique or niche? How does the brand reflect this?
Product packaging can also tell a lot about a brand’s story, even when shoppers stumble across it in a retail store. Consider how you can represent your brand outside the context of your online presence.
Marketing, PR and cooperation
Effective advertising is crucial to increasing brand awareness. Messages to the target audience must directly address their pain points, problems and needs.
You should also consider public relations as part of your branding strategy. How you respond to challenges or crises can make or break your brand. Include worst-case scenarios in your plan, detailing how you will act in the public eye.
Collaborations and sponsorships can be a great way to introduce your brand to new audiences. But not every opportunity will be the best fit for your brand. Decide which organizations or events you’ll sponsor, as well as which companies or creators you’d ideally like to partner with.
Conclusion
You don’t have to run a multinational corporation to attract the attention of your target audience to your brand. You won’t always succeed, but the costs of not investing in your brand far outweigh the potential negative consequences. And you can always make adjustments as you go. Create a brand that delivers on its promises, speaks the language of your ideal customer, and leaves a lasting positive impression.