Branding: How Does It Work?

Branding: How Does It Work?

Branding is very important to any business, whether your business is a top fortune 500 company or a mom and pop corner store. An effective branding strategy could give you a major advantage in most competitive markets. But what exactly does "branding" mean? How does it affect your business?

“The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a “name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and series of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers.”   In laymen’s terms, your brand is what you promise your customer. It tells the consumer what they can expect from your products and services, and it show the difference between you and your competitor. Your brand is created from who you are, who you want to be and who people perceive you to be. Let’s take a look at what branding strategies are and some of the mistakes companies make when developing a branding campaign.

Branding Strategies

Every business must eventually build and maintain a brand if it desires to continue in business and gain new customers.  Your branding strategy is who, what, where, when and to whom you plan on communicating and delivering on your brand messages. Where you advertise is part of your brand strategy. Your distribution channels are also part of your brand strategy. And what you communicate visually and verbally are part of your brand strategy as well.  Consistent, strategic branding leads to a strong brand equity.

When people come in contact with your business name, they automatically begin to come up with impressions and memories that determine what they believe about you:  Their notions may be the result of communications you have had with customers in the past, or they may be the result of good or bad publicity or word-of-mouth.  Your customers may have a deep perception about you, or your slate may be nearly clear of any impressions whatsoever.  Regardless of whether the beliefs a customer holds about you are many or few, good or bad, or accurate or inaccurate, they make up the image of your brand in their mind and they influence how your customer thinks and what your customer buys.

Your brand image lives in your customers’ minds, whether you intentionally put it there or not. Branding is the route to making sure that the brand image you have is the brand image you want. The best starting point for brand development is a true look at what people currently think of your brand and industry in the marketplace.

While being a part of a small marketing team for the college that I currently work for, our marketing department and advisors kind of explained that different types of brands work for different marketing approaches that businesses may take. Basically, there are a few general types of brands that a business could fall into:   Product Brands, Service Brands, Business Brands, Personal Brands, and Personality Brands.

·         Product Brands are those products that have become well known within the marketplace and have characteristics that make them better than others in this category

·         Service Brands are those services that consumers buy purely based on trust.

·         Business Brands are another option rather than branding a particular service or product an entity decides to brand the company instead.

·         Personal Brands are those images that people have of each individual whether you know it or not.  It is an image that someone has of you.

·         Personality Brands are create significant value when associated with products or services, for instance, the names like Oprah, Martha Stewart or the Kardashian brand.

Where do Taglines fit into your Strategy?

A tagline is a phrase that accompanies your brand name to quickly translate your business position and brand identity into a single line called a “tagline” that means something to consumers. A tagline is meant to provide consumers with an indication of your brand and its market position in just a few memorable words.  Great taglines have a number of common attributes.

·         If it is memorable -You hear it, memorize it quickly, and repeat it with ease.

·         If it is short -Great taglines often have as few as ten syllables so that they’re quick to recite and easy to tuck in alongside logos.

·         If it conveys a brand’s point of difference. The tagline tells what sets your brand apart from others.

·         If it clarifies a brand’s market position and key benefits. Especially if the brand name doesn’t quickly communicate the brand’s offerings and distinctions.

·         It differentiates a business from all others.  A great tagline is so unique that it doesn’t work when linked to a competitor’s brand name.

·         It reflects the brand’s identity, character, promise, and personality. It also needs to be believable and original.

Common Mistakes in a Branding Campaign

Over the past several years, I have been employed within a certain area of postsecondary education, and we have seen some very common and target branding mistakes made when trying to gain a piece of the market share.  Some of those mistakes included:

·         Not obligating enough funding to commit to accomplish marketing strategies.

·         Not being consistent with one campaign and following through with what was outlined

·         Not having a clear vision or focus on what was to be accomplished. 

All of these things are very important when you are trying to get a branding campaign from the board room to putting it into action and letting it do what it’s supposed to do. We must make sure everyone within the organization is on the same page, this is key in every strategy.  A good branding campaign will always deliver the message clearly, confirm your credibility and motivate buyers to buy your product or service.