Your branding is so much more than a logo – it is the first impression you give to your audience. It promotes your brand voice, your mission, your values and you use all these over every aspect of social media, marketing and advertising in your business. It tells your audience what they should expect from you and differentiates you from your competition.
For new and small businesses, it’s important to attract the right customers from the outset. It helps customers that will get on board with your ethos.
If you are not convinced about the power of branding, here are 10 benefits you may want to consider.
1. Stand out in the crowd
A good brand has a clear purpose and will help you stand out among other companies in your industry. You may offer similar products or services to your competitors, but clients and customers will choose you because of your brand, values and personality. First impression is everything.
2. Save you money and time
For new and small businesses, it’s important to watch where your money is being spent. You have to decide what is most important to you and what makes the most sense for your business. It might seem easiest to just go with the cheapest solution at first, but without proper branding in place, you might not be very consistent. You may want to change your strategy, logo, messaging, website and everything else several times before you’re completely happy with it. In the long run, you may end up spending more time and money on changes, rather than setting a good foundation in the first place. Constantly changing things also won’t do anything good for your customer loyalty.
3. Consistency
With solid branding in place means you won’t have to constantly question yourself on the little things like, “What font should I use? What colour should I use? How should this look?” With a brand style guide, all of those things will be set.
4. Credibility
Having an established and clear brand will make you look like an expert. If you appear to know what you’re talking about and come across as a professional, people will be more likely buy from you.
5. Brand Confidence
Beautiful branding will make you proud to share and market your business. If people see that you’re confident in what you do, they’ll be more likely to trust you and your expertise.
6. Attract your ideal clients
If your brand clearly represents your business, you’ll be more likely to attract the right people. For example, if you want to attract a higher-paying client, your branding needs to be in line to achieve this. You may want to consider using high quality packaging, or include a beautiful card with each purchase. The small details are important and that’s what your ideal clients will remember.
7. Customer Loyalty
Good branding elevates a business and builds recognition and loyalty. Customers are attracted to brands that share similar values with them. When you showcase what you value through branding, customers will develop an emotional connection to you. Brand loyalty can often last a lifetime, which leads me to the next benefit of branding.
8. You can charge what you’re worth
In order to start making money you may charge way less than what you deserve – just to gain some traction in your business. With a solid brand established, you will come across as a professional and therefore you can charge like one. If you show that you produce high quality work or products, clients will be more likely to value what you offer and pay higher prices for it.
9. Returning customers
Your clients and audience can be the best form of marketing. If you deliver what your brand promises, your customers will remember you. If they ever need your services or products in the future, they will think of you first and will most likely refer you to their friends.
10. Clear strategy for the future
Branding sets a solid foundation and will set the tone for everything you do. With a strong strategy in place, you can refer back to it and make sure that your products and services are in line with your brand’s mission and goals.
