Partner Article

Here's Why Your Brand Should Be a Business Priority

Brand is everything – right? Well, not according to a recent analysis of British brands which aimed to undermine this sentiment. It found that of all the British brands purchased in 2014, only 14% attributed the buyout to brand value. Compared to 24% who claimed customer relations as one of the main purchasing factors. So, perhaps it’s time to rethink the impact brand truly has on your business?

Yet, when your brand is so closely linked to customer relations, retention and loyalty – it IS everything to your business. In fact, it’s one of the most important factors when it comes to winning over your customers.

It Creates Leadership

A great brand doesn’t stop at a catchy tag line and a logo; it strengthens your business and defines who you are, what you stand for and what you can offer to your audience. Ultimately, your brand is your businesses leader and shapes how your audience view, interact and are influenced by your business.

“Your business needs an identity which resonates with your audience, and reinforces the emotional relationship which is at the heart of every successful brand. Almost every brand has a promise which it aims to deliver on, and it should be leading and delivering on that promise. A defining purpose to your business is what separates one brand from another; ultimately, it creates the brand experience that consumers receive” comments David Dews, Creative Managing Director at Speed Agency.

Builds Trust

Trust is a critical business component – it builds and maintains a strong and enduring brand. When trust is built between a brand and its audience, they develop a relationship with results in loyalty. Brand promises are commonly thought to build loyalty – therefore it’s essential that you create goals which you can sustain long term, and realise that everything you say about your brand is a promise.

Brand trust is also built through the value it brings to the platforms it uses. For example, social media platforms offer businesses the perfect realm to interact with their audience, communicate their brand values and industry expertise. Every platform a business uses should be seen as a tool to build the brand in a positive light.

Adds Consistency

Consistency is the ultimate asset, and key to a successful brand. Whether you are designing a business card, email signature or stationary, if you reinforce the same visuals each time, you are increasing the likelihood that your existing and potential customers will remember your business. The same goes for your online and offline presence too – everything should be a cohesive brand existence. A consistent message allows your audience to identify and resonate with your brand, resulting in trust.

As marketing strategies have evolved and third-party generated content has increased in popularity, branding has become a more complex game to navigate. Brand curation is no longer in the hands of those who create it; it’s now driven by the audience. Therefore, a strong and consistent brand from the outset can help to enforce the direction user-generated branding should take.

Abigayle Norman, Content Marketing Manager at Brandworkz adds, “the bedrock of brand consistency is brand education. First off, your people must have easy access to the ingredients they need to create great marketing materials – but they also need to learn how to use those ingredients.

A central brand management portal will give them access to all the right information about your brand stories, positioning and values so they can deliver on the brand promise, whatever their job role and wherever they are in the world. After all, your employees are the best brand ambassadors you have“

Its Competitive

There’s no such thing as an original idea, and the same rings true for businesses. Yet, what puts one ahead of the other is often the competitive advantage that a strong brand creates. Every start-up and smaller business hopes to grow big one day, and branding cannot be overlooked as unimportant when pushing businesses on to bigger things.

Businesses should place a high level of importance on their brand image, as it helps to separate your business out from the crowd and add value to your business. Brands are valuable simply because they cause customers to be more inclined to purchase your product rather than your competitors. Your brand sets the expectations of what consumers can expect from your product.

Reinforces Internal Message

A strong brand makes employees feel supported, and that they should represent the brand both within and outside of the business. It also causes them to care about the customer experience and the image the company is projecting.

When employees represent your brands key attributes they are far more likely to be a success with new and existing customers, as they remind them of just why your brand and business is the one they should be with. Brand aligned employee behaviour influences every aspect of your business.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Rebecca Moore .