Branding. One of the main reasons I fell in love with marketing.
It was very interesting to me how a swoosh on a pair of Nike shoes was able to deliver experiences vs a shoe without one.
Interacting with these types of products or services gives us an experience and with that in mind, we tend to make a buying decision. That, to me, is the effect a brand can have on your customers.
Marty Neumeier describes a brand well – A brand is not what you say it is, but what your audience says it is.
Don’t associate the term brand with just one thing like the experience, but rather, what goes into developing that experience. A brand experience could be something like this.
A customer who watches an advert on YouTube (and does not click the “Skip Ad” button, yup they exist,) interacting with a member of staff at the store (who believes in the value of the brand as well,) the product packaging, perhaps a personalized note in the product a birthday wish via email that includes a 10% discount off their products. All this and lots more go into the ‘experience’ of the brand.
So what is branding and why do you need it?
In simple words, branding is what sets you or your organization apart and helps customers recognize your brand. To me, a brand is important because it connects with your customers at an emotional level. If you build your brand effectively, you can create a lasting impression that allows customers to identify your products or services and encourages them to invest their money, interest and time into your product or service.
Below are some key branding elements
Brand promise – What do your customers expect every time they interact with your company?
Your company should breathe this promise in everything that it is involved in. Social media, advertising, employees, products, emails, etc. The more you can deliver on this, the stronger your brand promise increases in value/equity. Nike does well with their promise which is ‘To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.”
Brand personality – A set of human characteristics used to build a relationship with your customers.
Developing a brand personality helps you stand out among the competition as well as how well you can connect to your customers on an emotional level. This will encourage customers to make a decision to positively impact your company. Some examples of brand personalities are sincerity, excitement, sophistication, ruggedness, competence. Understanding your product will help you know which brand personality you are and the audience you are catering to. For example, I perceive Apple as a creative, yet sophisticated individual.
Brand story – What sparked your company’s inception?
Stories are a powerful method of affecting the way a customer views your company as well as creating a feeling of trust that your customer needs. The key here is to keep your story as simple as possible and it should easily connect with your customers. The 3 important concepts you can include in your story is the problem, the solution and the success it will bring to your customer. Insta360‘s story is about how they made it easy to capture and share people’s lives’ most meaningful experience with others.
Brand position – What does your brand offer that is unique from its competitors in your customers minds?
Here you can highlight the prominent features of your brand and create a depiction of what your brand is. Once you have a strong position, it often becomes difficult to reposition it. An example here would be an iPhone vs a Samsung phone.
Brand assets – How is your brand recognised?
They are a set of elements that make a brand more familiar and distinctive. Logo, colours, slogans, smell, tagline, etc. Remember to always keep this consistent across all your company initiatives. When walking around in the shopping mall, and you smell a burst of freshness, you tend to associate it with Lush.
When you are in love with your product or service and believe in what it stands for, find ways to make it relatable through your brand. In the end, your brand’s success also comes down to being consistent. Always aim to continuously innovate and maintain the quality of your brand to retain your customers.
So, this aspect of marketing to create an experience at every stage when someone interacts with a product or service is what drives me. I hope you’re able to implement some of these elements to your brand as well. Feel free to get in touch if you’re looking for ways to increase your brand value via schranz@schades.ca
Till next time, peace.
-Schranz