Why branding is important for your business

Branding isn’t just part of your business—it’s part of your entire day.

From the moment you wake up, you’re surrounded by it.

You start with whatever alarm you use to wake up. A proper alarm clock, a phone (are you iphone or android?), a prod from someone else…

Then there’s your pyjamas and bed-linen (Maybe you’re all about M&S cotton or you’re a Vinted bargain hunter – not forgetting your choice of mattress) whatever brand of soap, shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant you use. These may say something about you – or about the person in your home who buys it. Values. Purpose. Needs.

Skincare. Make up. Perfume. Hair products. More brands. The bathroom is full of them!

You’ll get dressed in whatever brand of clothes you wear which also say something about you – fast-fashion, slow-fashion, the environment, second-hand, long-lasting, colours, materials, everything adds to the story of you and the story of the brands you choose. You might dress a certain way because that’s what your brand is. What you’re known for. What makes you feel like you. I wear chunky necklaces most of the time. It’s a choice, but it’s also become intentional.

More than six branded things before breakfast. Speaking of which..

You’ll make your brand of tea or coffee in whatever way you do that. (Me: black coffee, freshly ground, V60) and eat whatever you eat which might be anything – a Fairtrade banana, frozen berries, your brand of cereal, bread, yoghurt. Did you make your bread or buy it in? Is it supermarket or farm shop?

Brand Brand Brand.

All of those decisions. If brands influence your choices so early in the day, imagine the power your brand could have in someone else’s?

When you think about all of those brands – what made you choose THEM? It might be that it was the best price on the shelf with your Nectar card or that you know the person who makes your moisturiser and believe in what they are doing. Perhaps you want a natural route, maybe you’re buying on results (or both. I like both.) Perhaps you chose your yoghurt because it stood out on the shelf or your cereal because they made you laugh on Instagram? Maybe those trousers are made with no waste or maybe you love that your top is on trend and didn’t cost you much?

There’s something that happens that makes you choose THESE brands.

Sometimes it’s easy to say what it is. Sometimes you aren’t so sure but somehow you’re drawn to them.

Is this an accident?

You can bet your home-made blackberry jam sandwiches that it’s not.

Where you have loyalty to a brand – there’s a reason. Maybe your Gran always bought Fairy Liquid and you do too, or your mum swore by Nivea and now you can’t imagine using anything else.

It might be brand loyalty passed down from your childhood, or from your own testing – finding something that works and sticking to it – or it could be that seeing the brand over and over again you’re able to make a connection and you feel a pull to them.

This works for big companies. Selling toothpaste, deodorant, food and clothes. Think Apple, Nike, Innocent Drinks down to the handmade jewellery brand you follow on Instagram that sends thank-you notes in your parcel, the copywriter whose tone of voice feels like a friend, the coach who shows up with infectious joy.

It works for you too.

It’s because you associate those brands with your lifestyle or some part of you. There’s meaning and resonance and impact. Each carefully curated moment has planted a seed and over time you feel more connection, more resonance, more desire to give that brand a try.

Your brand is the things people think, feel, say and remember about your business.

When you think of the brands you encounter in your morning, what do you think, feel, say and remember about them?

Perhaps you’ve seen messaging around their values, and it’s shaped how you think about them. Maybe you don’t remember the words, but you remember the feeling. You may even have had a conversation about it with someone who has recommended it or scoured the comments on their posts or binged TrustPilot reviews. This makes you feel a certain way about the brand.

Branding is important because it helps those decisions along. It means that each interaction with the brand is another drop into your mind that says “this interests me, this is my kind of business, these are my kind of people, this is something I am happy to be associated with”. It’s about being the preferred option – something you BECOME. It’s about creating connection, building relationships and showing up for your people, your beliefs and your purpose.

Branding makes you stand out in a world where there is SO MUCH information – if your brand can distract someone from all of “that” for just long enough that they discover something about you – then you’re doing a great job. Do that enough times and your brand is memorable. Keep going and the ultimate goal will be the result you’re looking for. Usually a purchase, or a donation.

Branding is important because as the business owner, it gives you clarity – helps YOU to hone down what you’re all about – it makes decision making easier, it gives you stronger messaging, better ideas, it helps you communicate with the right people in the right way, it gives you focus and helps you to be more intentional.

Branding seeps into every aspect of your business. It goes beyond your logo, it is about consistency with your visuals, yes – but it’s also about consistency with how you do things within your business too.

Your visuals and your business need to complement each other, not feel miles apart.

In Singing In the Rain it turns out that Lina Lamont has a voice which doesn’t match people’s expectations and that’s a huge surprise for the audience. Their trust is shattered.

It’s like booking a luxury-sounding holiday home and turning up to mismatched towels and a dodgy lock on the door – it’s not what you expected, and the trust is broken.

Your voice needs to match your visuals, your business needs to deliver what it says it can. Your brand is about managing expectations and supporting what you do.

It’s also about supporting you to get to where you want to be. Reaching the goals you have for your business. To do that you’ll need to create a plan and your brand strategy needs to be part of that plan – knowing what you stand for THEN so you can start being that NOW. Knowing where you’re headed and solidifying that also means that when you need to make changes, be flexible, reinvent your business in some way – you can do that and maintain a strong brand provided that the vision is the same.

When people say “branding,” don’t just think of logos and colours—think of meaning. Messaging. Memory. That’s what people connect with. That’s what’s important about branding.

It isn’t just for big companies or pretty packaging—it’s the invisible thread that ties everything in your business together. It shapes how people see you, how they connect with you, and why they choose YOU. When done with intention, branding becomes a powerful tool to build trust, express your values, and move your business in the direction you want it to go.

Start noticing which brands you’re drawn to today—and ask yourself why. That’s the power you want your own brand to hold.

Amy Purdie, The Brand Explorer takes you on an Adventure to discover what your brand is all about, helping you to find clarity with your brand strategy, craft brand visuals that you’re proud of and love to use and to map out your marketing. You can join Bloom or join Amy in your very own Private Brand Adventure.

Amy has been enjoying designing logos, brand identities, illustration, print work and websites – since 2007 fuelled mainly by tea and chocolate.