Before we dive into why branding matters, we should probably talk about what branding IS.
Branding is… ALL the things. It’s huge. It’s what people think, say and feel about you. It’s your first impression and your 900th. It’s how you speak to people and how you act with people – and yes, it’s your logo and your colours and your fonts too. Your website, your social media, your customer service… everything. Absolutely anything that impacts the expectations, experience and memories that people have of your business.
So everything. Do you see that? It’s every opportunity you have to make a connection with your audience. Visually. Not visually. If you’re actually a part of that moment or not.
Brand – more than anything – is about feeling. How do people feel about your business? Not in a considered way, but in-the-moment, without thinking about it, how do you make them feel?
Did you know that “95% of our purchase decision making takes place subconsciously” ( Gerald Zaltman) – that’s that in the moment gut-feeling thing right there.
Hopefully you can also see why branding is important here, because branding helps you to pinpoint how those moments could feel by getting really clear on what it is that you are actually about. Can you also see that whether you like it or not you have a brand? Because if your brand is “everything” then it’s already there – and you have the opportunity to transform it into something else if you’ll take the time to think about it and implement your findings.
Branding is important because it’s an action you can take and implement that will attract the right people to your business – and there are some fabulous benefits.
I would love to help you work on your brand, just get in touch if you’d like to book a coaching session or work on your brand visuals. I get so excited about this and I love helping people get excited about their brands as well 🙂
Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of branding – why it’s important.
- Confidence. This is my favourite benefit. How many times have you been at a networking event and someone’s handed you their business card saying something along the lines of “my website’s not quite right yet”, or “These cards aren’t the final ones, I’m still working on those” – maybe you’ve even been that person? Often, there’s embarrassment because you KNOW that your visuals are not working their hardest for you. Fix that, make your website and your logo and your business cards and your social media graphics something that you’re proud of, something that fills YOU with confidence. Confidence removes shame – which means that handing out your stuff is no longer an issue for you – so you’re more likely to direct people to your website and gain more work, or to hand out a brochure.
- Confidence again! If you get your branding right, your audience will also have more confidence in you! When you look the part and actually communicate what you do and how you do it then your audience will take you more seriously.
- Clarity. Working on your brand requires time, thought and work – all of which helps you to become much clearer on what you’re all about. What you think and believe, who you want to serve and how you want them to feel. Saul Bass said “Design is thinking made visual”, you can have good design without good thinking – and this will impact all of the other aspects of your brand too.
- Connection. Branding creates connection – through your branding you’ll be putting messages, images and thoughts out there which will help you to connect with the right people. You’ll attract the people who also shop at the shop, or the people who’ve been having similar breakthroughs from reading that book, or those people who just love your brand colour and can’t scroll past. Seth Godin said that “people buy relationships, stories and magic.” Relationship is connection. Branding makes creating that connection easier because you’re not just putting out any old thing – you have a plan for how you’re going to show people what matters to you so you can connect with your audience and get that relationship started.
- Loyalty. Branding helps to create loyalty through connection. Positive feelings about that brand will mean that they will feel a sense of loyalty.
- Recognition. Having a strong visual brand is really handy if you want to get recognised and remembered so that you’re front of mind when someone needs what you do. There’s also something very satisfying about a stranger knowing who you and what you do. You should increase your recognition factor by having the same or very similar imagery on each visual touchpoint – every social media platform and your website – and on every piece of print. This should be easy peasy as you should have a brand style sheet to help you.
- Money. Who doesn’t love this one? If you have spent time on your brand and done a good job, then this is what will happen. How come? Because having a strong brand helps you stand out and be recognised, it puts you top of mind, you’ve made connection with those people you want to work with and they remember you so that they will recommend you to others even if they’ve never bought anything AND when they’re ready for what you sell, they will come to you.
Your brand has the power to create confidence, connection, recognition, loyalty, and sales. That’s why it’s important and that’s why you should bother working on your brand.
I would love to help you navigate the adventure of branding, you can email me to book a call in to see how we can work together. Maybe you need to gain some insight into what your brand is all about, or maybe you need a hand with the visuals – I’m right here.
Amy Purdie is the founder of Whiteacres (where you are now) she can help your business become irresistible to your ideal clients so that they can’t wait to work with you.
Amy has been enjoying designing logos, brand identities, illustration, print work and websites – since 2007 fuelled mainly by tea and chocolate.