Don’t bypass branding! Why establishing a brand early on is crucial for start-ups.
As an entrepreneur in the process of getting your business up and running, you’ll likely find yourself eager to dive headfirst into sales. However, taking the time to establish a consistent and unified brand is crucial to the long-term (and short-term) success of your company.
What exactly is branding?
Branding is essentially the process of creating an identity for your company—everything that encapsulates the product or service you are selling—from voice to image to overall feelings evoked. Branding is not only achieved through notable visual identifiers such as logos and color schemes, but also includes the mission, vision, and values of your organization, and what sets you apart from other competitors in your field.
What exactly is branding?
Branding is essentially the process of creating an identity for your company—everything that encapsulates the product or service you are selling—from voice to image to overall feelings evoked. Branding is not only achieved through notable visual identifiers such as logos and color schemes, but also includes the mission, vision, and values of your organization, and what sets you apart from other competitors in your field.
When we think of popular brands that we know and love, we both consciously and subconsciously associate their name with a variety of words, images, and even emotions.
An adult walking into McDonalds may find themselves transported back to a childhood memory of their first happy meal. Or watching a commercial for Coca Cola could remind you of the last gathering you had with friends, generating not only a pleasant memory but a craving for drink itself. This is why branding is such a powerful tool when it comes to growing and marketing a business.
Although it will take time to get your company to the same level of recognition as Coca Cola or McDonalds, a solid foundation for branding in the early stages of business development is vital for several reasons.
Branding establishes identity and differentiation (which is especially important in Ecommerce).
When you go to purchase a product, seeing a familiar label like Heinz Ketchup may draw you in more than a generic brand, for instance. Since you will be competing with other businesses in your field, it’s important to stand out. A strong brand identity helps you appear professional and reliable, even when your business is new to the industry. Consumers are more likely to buy your product if you have a cohesive brand, ultimately establishing trust and credibility when building a customer base.
Differentiation will also leverage your marketing efforts. For instance, a unique yet consistent theme across social media will prove to be memorable for audiences, and a voice that facilitates an emotional connection to your company will better attract customers. When looking at companies like Nike or Adidas for example, their messaging is not only consistent across platforms, but also conveys strong emotional themes like power, endurance, and strength.
Branding adds value to your business, also known as brand equity. Brand equity is measured by how recognizable your brand is, the perceived quality of your product, and any other associations a consumer would make beyond just the functional benefit of the product itself.
If you ever find yourself driving into a new town, you’ll likely recognize those golden arches of McDonalds from a mile away- a prime example of powerful recognition and strong brand equity.
As your business grows, a strong brand is a valuable asset for a number of reasons. For one, it helps you leverage important negotiations. When negotiating contracts and licensing agreements, strong brand equity can lead to more favorable contract terms, longer contracts, and better licensing deals. For instance, supply chains like Costco and Walmart can dictate terms with supplies like few other retailers.
Branding plays a crucial role if you are looking to form partnerships. Businesses with strong brand equity are more desirable for collaborations and joint ventures, and this equity gives you an edge when securing partnership terms or agreeing to revenue shares.
A strong brand identify helps you establish robust sales margins that lead to higher profit when consumers deem your brand to be of higher value or quality than competitors.
And then, brand equity is important when you are ready to expand your business. For instance, launching a new line of products is more successful when customers already have an established base of trust and recognition with your brand. Trust in your brand means your customers will be more likely to purchase new or different products, sustaining your business into the future.
Finally, we usually think of branding as being an important aspect of customer attraction and retention—it is also a crucial component internally, since a solid brand identity facilitates employee trust and retention. When an employee sees value in a brand, they are more likely to continue working with a company, as well as to take pride in their work.
A strong and consistent brand can ensure that you hire employees who have shared passions or interests, and who understand the mission and values of your company. Not only that, brand equity helps you obtain top notch talent as more and more applicants recognize your company. This is especially important if you are looking to hire brand ambassadors with larger audiences who are enthusiastic about endorsing your product or service.
All in all, branding is an important component for both short term advantage and overall growth and success of your business. Brand recognition, loyalty, and positive perception from consumers and from employees is an asset that will help your business thrive.
Written by Hannah Lemiski