When you hear of the phrase “benefits of branding” you associate it with higher prices and loyal customers, but it goes a lot deeper than that.
Brands are multi-layered and the influence of a strong brand runs much deeper than merely its visual appearance and pricing.
It affects every part of the business, helping to keep the cogs turning of a well-oiled machine, in such a reserved and back seat role.
Branding affects more about a business than you could ever imagine.
Don’t believe me? Read this article, then come back to me.
1. It helps your business get recognised
Having a consistent brand kit (colors, fonts, values, style, etc) makes you memorable to the consumer.
See, consumers (just like everyone) have a lot on their minds and are busy the majority of the day. They don’t have time to think about which brand of drink they want to buy, they just buy Coca-Cola, for example.
Why is this?
It’s because they recognise it. It’s familiar to them.
It’s this degree of consumer familiarity that really exemplifies the powerful nature of branding, and the success you can have from it, all thanks to being recognizable.
If your brand is recognizable, distinguishable, and unique – then whenever a consumer enters your field or industry, ready to make a purchase, your brand will already be at the back of their mind.
Dwelling in their subconscious. Ready to reveal itself when the opportunity is right.
If you become synonymous with your field the you stand a very real chance of becoming an irreplaceable industry leader, much like Coca Cola.
2. It shows you are serious about your business
Like it or not, this is the backbone to any successful business.
Without credibility, your company will struggle to attract clients and customers. Fact.
A brand is a symbol of credibility. It’s associated with all the good, and all the bad your business has ever done, and this can be either a blessing or a curse.
See, if you produce high-quality products and undertake a customer focussed approach, then you become a lot more credible than those without a brand and a generic name.
Branding helps to invoke trust and safety among consumers. They’re aware of the potential of your brand, thanks to your past actions, and they have faith in your ability to repeat them.
A prime example is Apple.
Apple has been a dominant force in the world for many years. Why?
Their products, whilst expensive, are constantly excellent and feature at the very top of the industry. This could all be different however if they weren’t called Apple; if they lacked branding and instead had a generic name like – The Mobile Phone Guys.
It’s this credibility that Apple has spent years building through branding that has made them industry leaders and one of the most dominant companies in the entire world.
When you think of Apple you think of premium, top of the range technology.
You think that because of their brand. No other reason.
3. It helps you attract talent
Branding doesn’t only benefit your sales and customer relations, it has a few more uses than that.
As I mentioned earlier, it’s a symbol for your company, and that reigns true. So, when employees are looking for jobs, do you think they’re going to apply for a small business with no branding or presence.
Of course not!
They look at Google, Microsoft, and YouTube.
Why?
Because these companies are synonymous with innovative and creative working environments, intertwined with unique atmospheres that complement the work ethic and values of the company.
This creates a synergy among employees that has a knock-on effect, benefiting all of them thanks to the harmonious nature of work that is created at each of these companies.
My personal favourite is Google.
Seriously, type in on YouTube “Google Office Tours” and look. They have some of the most unique and progressive offices in existence today, with rules that seem more relaxed than a holiday.
My favourite being, you work when you want to.
You’d think everyone would skip work, right?
Wrong.
Google hires those that have a drive about them, so whilst the office rules are extremely relaxed, those that work there are some of the most brilliant and motivated minds around today.
The reason Google can attract employees of such a high caliber is thanks to their branding of, not just their products and services, but their company ethos and atmosphere.
It’s world-renowned and is easily one of the most desired companies to work for in the world!
There’s more to branding than just customer relations, remember that.
4. It helps you connect with your audience
It’s no secret that we have connections with brands.
We think they “understand us” and to some degree it’s true. They understand our psychology and how to appeal to it.
How do they do it?
By appealing to emotion.
Think about it like this:
If you target all those interested in the sport of golf, you’d target around 60 million people. (rough estimate)
But if you target all those who feel the emotion of happiness, then you appeal to every single human on the planet.
We all differ in our interests, and we’re all unique in our characteristics – but we all share the same emotions. That’s just human psychology.
Emotion equals loyalty. Allow me to give an example:
Nike sells emotion.
They sell motivation.
The feeling you get when you wear a Nike product is unlike any other fitness brand in the world. It could be because of the countless athletes you see endorse it, or the extremely driving slogan of “Just do it.”
Either way, the boost of motivation you get from those new Nike trainers, or that Nike training top you just bought, is unlike any other brand on the planet.
This is selling emotion, not just selling a product, and Nike are masters of it.
If you can trigger emotion amongst customers, then you create loyalty among them – especially if the feelings are happy. The trigger of dopamine and serotonin from the brand makes customers crave it, and want to come back for more.
They love the feeling the brand gives, and they’re willing to buy from them again to feel that way again.
Emotions sell. Fact.
5. It increases the value of your business
Equity is the value of your company, and having a strong brand is a sure-fire way to increase it.
Branding has such a large knock-on effect of every process in your company that it’s hard to argue against the benefit it has to your company equity.
Whether it’s the perceived value by customers or the attractiveness to investors, branding really does help in boosting the valuation of your business.
It gives you a lot of power in negotiations with suppliers (buying power) and in negotiations with partners and collaboratives, helping you to drive the best deal possible for your business, saving you money and maximizing the value you receive.
Here’s equity in a nutshell:
- Driving sales thanks to customer loyalty and the perceived value they have of the goods sold.
- Giving you power in negotiations with suppliers and partners, allowing you to negotiate better rates and lower your costs.
- Branding gives you an image associated with your past successes, making the company attractive to investors.
All three of these result in your company becoming more valuable, and financially secure.
You’re still really doubting the benefits of branding? Shame on you.
6. It helps you build confidence
Having a strong, trustworthy brand builds confidence in a myriad of sectors.
Your customer base being a prime example.
If your customer associates your brand with quality, reliability, and trust then they instantly have higher confidence in you to deliver. To meet their expectations, and maybe even exceed them!
In fact, they may even look up to your brand as an example of success, an inspiration of such, and there’s no greater vote of confidence than that.
The more confident your target market is in your brand, the higher your sales are likely to be.
Why?
They know what to expect. You’ve shown time and time again your qualities and it’s become second nature to the customer to associate your brand with it.
A brand without confidence is a brand without trust.
You’d never buy from a brand you don’t trust now, would you?
7. It helps your business be consistent
In my opinion, this is the biggest benefit branding provides.
However, it only applies if it’s true. It’s not a quality that can be faked or fabricated.
A consistent brand is a stable brand.
Stability is one of the greatest compliments you can have as a business as it shows continuous growth and quality – both factors that appeal to stakeholders.
See, a brand that is seen as consistent in its products is gold in the eyes of the consumer. They aren’t going to find any nasty surprises with their order, and the quality is going to be as good as always.
It gives them peace of mind when buying from you, leaving them relaxed, satisfied, and excited to receive their order.
In terms of suppliers and partners, stability and consistency are highly desired.
A brand that has consistent demand and a stable structure is a brand that will last, and that’s exactly what suppliers are looking for when they enter a contract. They want assurances that in years to come your brand will still exist, and the demand will be there.
After all, if the brand has demand, then so do the suppliers.
A prime example of a company with fantastic consistency is McDonalds.
Their recipes have remained unchanged for many years, with the infamous “secret sauce” in the Big Mac being seen as one of the great mysteries of the food industry.
Combine this exclusivity with the fact every McDonalds produces the same quality food, EVERY TIME, and all of a sudden you feel comfortable buying from them wherever you are in the world.
If you go abroad and order McDonald’s fries, you can guarantee they’ll look and taste the exact same as they do back at home.
It’s this consistency that drives McDonalds demand, and it’s their solid branding that helps reinforce their status as brand masters.
You see the golden arches and you can already taste the order in your mouth. You know exactly what you’re going to buy and you know exactly how it’ll taste because it always tastes like that.
That’s the benefit of incredible branding when combined with flawless consistency – it creates essentially irreplaceable products.
“What can branding do for you?”
That was the question posed right at the very top of this article and its answers are plentiful.
As we’ve explained here, it affects every single department, action, and a decision made within a business, and is an integral part of success.
Branding can do a lot for you, more than you’d ever have imagined before reading this.
It’s the “secret sauce” of any successful business, and always has been: from Standard Oil back in the 1800s to McDonald’s in the modern day – it’s the reason for success.
Without it, all those household names you know and love today, would be nothing more than “Bob’s Soda Company” or “Burger Shack” – hardly very memorable, are they?
