Why you Should be Building a Brand

It’s estimated that the average person is exposed to between 4000-100,000 media messages per day. So how can you cut through the noise and get through to your customers? The answer is all in the branding.

Branding is the identity of your business. It’s what you deliver to customers; it’s what makes you unique; it’s the feelings people have about you and what people say about you.

It’s important that your brand catches and retains the attention and trust of your audience to build a relationship and ensure your business continues to be popular with customers.

So how do you start to build a brand?

1. Stand out from the crowd

Your branding reflects what makes you unique and puts the case to customers why they should use your business over your competitors. It makes sense to look at what it is your business provides that competitors don’t. Whether you offer a product/service at the lowest price or a luxury quality make sure to showcase this in your logo, website design and advertising.

2. Be eye catching and memorable

Not only do you have to capture the attention of your audience, you also have to battle against the thousands of other media messages bombarding potential customers on a daily basis. This is why it’s important that the design and language of everything your business puts out into the world must stand out and be memorable. Think bright colours, clever design and short, catchy phrasing.

3. Develop your business’s personality

Humans are hardwired to connect with other people so developing a brand personality for your business is the best way to connect with your audience. This will allow you to develop a relationship with loyal customers. Decide on your brand personality and be consistent in reflecting it through the design and language of your marketing. Is your business exciting, quirky, ambitious, reliable, luxurious or down to earth? Think about how you can demonstrate this to your audience.

4. Design

Once you have decided on your brand personality, you can begin to consistently demonstrate it to your audience through design. For example, if your brand personality is luxurious, intricate designs may communicate this to customers. The connotations of certain colours are also important to think about, for example, the colour blue tends to engender trust which is perhaps why it is used by solicitors and the healthcare industry.

Don’t forget, your design must also be unique, eye-catching and memorable!

5. The power of storytelling

Humans have told stories for thousands of years to help us make sense of the world around us. Storytelling can be a powerful tool in connecting your audience to your brand. It contains all the components of a story including a main character, conflict and resolution. In this case, the main character would be your customer and the conflict they experience can be resolved by your product/service. Rather than listing the features of your product or service, use the storytelling method to explain how your business can improve the lives of your customers. This technique not only makes your brand more attention grabbing and memorable but also more personable and encourages a relationship with your customers.