Do you know what it takes to make a strong branding?
Branding is essential if you want your business to grow and reach new heights. Strong branding ensures that you have loyal customers and you have a solid place in your industry. If you’re starting a business and you have no idea whatsoever when it comes to branding, this post is for you. This post will discuss branding and the five main factors that make branding strong. After reading this, you’d know more about the core truth of your business and figure out just how you truly want your business to be seen.
What is branding?
The term originated from ‘brandr’, a Norse word that stands for ‘to burn.” It was in the 1500s when it was widely used to refer to the act of marking cattles from different ranchers. Such marking connoted a sense of ownership. By The 1800s, the word evolved and began to represent not just ownership but quality as well. Branding is a strategic effort to control and shape the way your customers view your brand. Your brand is the way that your audience sees you. It’s a group of ideas and concepts that equates to things that people relate to your business. People remember your business well if you have a good brand. As a business that aims to grow and be in service for years to come, you would want people to remember you. This is why having a strong brand is essential.
To have strong branding, you need to need to consider the following factors:
1. Authenticity
A study revealed that 63% of customers prefer authentic businesses over ones that hide their identity. If you want customers to trust you, you need to be authentic.
Authentic can be a very misleading word. It’s used by most but not many truly understand what it means. In marketing, authenticity simply stands for honesty. Customers simply want you to be honest and transparent. Customers highly rely on businesses that remain true to their words. Customers simply want you to be clear with what you offer and do what you say you will. You will achieve branding authenticity if you’re clear with what you offer and consistently deliver results day after day. The more authentic you are, the stronger your brand will get. People always remember businesses that stay true to their words and deliver solid results.
2. Uniqueness
Does your business stand out?
You need to ensure that your branding is unique and distinct if you want to create a strong brand. Your customers need to be able to easily spot your brand in a crowd. Your brand needs to have its own mark when compared to other brands. Do you know how to separate yourself from your competitors? What is something that you have that they don’t have? You need to relate this with your brand’s level of authenticity. Nothing is more potent than a memorable brand that customers trust. That is branding at its best.
If you have no idea as to what makes your business unique, you should ask your loyal customers. Ask them why they keep on coming back. Integrate their answers with your improved and recognizable branding. The goal is to always be recognizable. Customers and future customers need to remember you.
3. Relevance
Does your brand connect to your customer? Do your customers feel seen?
It will be impossible to create a solid brand if you have no connection whatsoever with your customers. Does everything you stand for connecting with what your customers want? Is there an emotional connection between you and your customers? This is something that you can work on by clearly knowing your customers and what your customers stand for. If your customers are all about green living, sustainability, and helping the environment, and your business is also all about such, you should make it a point that the message is clear. Do it by incorporating recyclable materials like biodegradable plastics. Check out Australia’s leading plastic manufacturers as they all offer environment-friendly products that green customers will highly appreciate.
4. Boldness
Now more than ever, customers love brands that show their true colors. Is your brand clear when it comes to its values and beliefs? Does your brand stand for something?
Today’s customers, especially Generation Z, prefer businesses that share their values. Customers want to support brands that are not blind to today’s struggles.
Is your brand bold enough to show its values? It will be tricky for you if you’ve been on the fence and staying on the safe side. Today’s customers prefer brands that take a stand and advocate for what they believe in. What does your brand stand by? Is your branding clear enough to reflect such a stand? The bolder your message is, the stronger your branding will get.
5. Consistency
Consistency is the secret in branding. The most consistent brands are the ones that most people remember. Have you been changing your look ever so often? Have you given your customers the chance to get to know you and remember you?
You should aim to be consistent on branding across all endpoints. Your brand identity must be clear and aligned across all possible platforms. Your branding should never sleep. It should be strong enough and consistent that it remains uniform and aligned with everything that your business stands for at all times. Your customers need you to be consistent in order for them to trust you enough and choose to connect.
