Products and services meet the needs and desires of consumers. For example, if you're hungry and don't have time, you'll probably log on to a food delivery platform and place your order, where you'll be faced with a multitude of options. How do you choose something that will satisfy you?
You're sure to choose the restaurant that attracts the most attention with its photos, description, logo, meticulously detailed and strategically placed options, among other reasons. All in a short space of time.
That's branding. In short, it's a set of strategies for positioning a brand to arouse feelings and create connections with a target audience.
Everything your brand does and communicates is, or should be, thought through in conjunction with branding. Above all, because branding is the personality of the brand. In other words, it creates meaning and value through various techniques.
In this article, we'll introduce you to what branding is, its importance for your company, how to develop it and 7 reasons to invest in it today.
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What is branding?
Branding is a mandatory methodology for any company that wants to attract and create connections with customers.
That's why we can think of branding as complete brand management, which takes care of every detail, from end to end.
Marketing agencies use this strategy to position a brand in the market.
Positioning is done in several ways, and they all need to work together to create a great case. There's no point in launching a video that has gone viral and a beautiful logo, but they don't talk to each other. This does not contribute to branding.
In this sense, branding plays an important role in aligning marketing strategies with different formats, messages, colors, tone and voice to generate value and brand recognition.
Branding strategies, therefore, can be:
- Then;
- Sources;
- Jingle;
- Brand tone and voice;
- Color palette;
- Smell;
- Sound.
In other words, everything that involves the brand says a lot about how you develop branding.
Coca-Cola, for example, is one of the great cases that has been built up throughout history. The product was initially developed to be a medicine and has become the most famous soft drink in the world today.
Some marketing factors explain this, such as storytelling promoting happiness. Its red color is striking, and this is represented in products. It also makes good use of commemorative campaigns, such as Christmas. Another factor is positioning, such as embracing the social causes of each era, like today, embracing diversity.
Achieving strong and easily recognizable branding takes time, hard work and alignment between the entire marketing team and the company that wants to position itself clearly and prominently in front of the market and its public.
The importance of branding for your business
In addition to creating a strong positioning and image in people's minds, branding has the great importance of differentiating itself from other competing brands.
After all, the market is constantly expanding and, with so many options for consumers, it requires branding strategies to gain a foothold in the long term.
This is because 1/3 of customers have a preferred brand when they want something, and 59% choose to consume products from well-known brands, according to research by Render Forest.
Another determining factor in identifying the importance of branding for a company is tangibility. This means that branding is a reflection of all aspects of a company, such as:
- Values;
- Organizational culture;
- Product and service;
- Training;
- Projects;
- Design;
- Slogan.
In short, branding needs to connect with consumers through its various actions by means of stories and experiences. To do this, brands need to understand who their audience is in order to create the identification necessary to generate a position of value.
How can you develop your company's branding?
When thinking about a company's identity, you need to consider a few essential aspects in order to develop branding.
First of all, a company needs to have the basic structures in place to develop a good branding plan. This includes qualified staff, training, tools and leaders who promote its values.
What branding will do, in fact, is enhance the brand and its values with its consumers in different communication channels through marketing campaigns.
In order to maximize its potential, branding uses numerous strategies to develop its project. They are the construction of your brand, which includes: visual identity, positioning, communication channels, POS (points of sale), among other factors.
In this way, branding develops messages according to all these characteristics.
Visual identity
This is the first visual contact the public will have with your brand. Therefore, carrying out a thorough study of your colors, typography and the entire brand manual makes it possible to create a strong logo, graphic and digital pieces, as well as platforms such as websites and apps.
A great example of the good use of colors and typography is Nubank, or the famous "little purple". There are many digital banks these days, and by itself you can already identify which bank it is and what it offers the user.
Positioning in branding
Positioning includes values, tone of voice, language, content, formats, among other factors.
Your company decides how it wants to position itself, whether it's serious, relaxed, formal, informal and so many other personifications.
Positioning makes it easier to target your ideal audience.
Communication channels
Strategically choosing communication channels says a lot about who you want to talk to. In addition, understanding the nuances of each medium allows you to explore the best formats with the best content.
Although nowadays you need to be present on all social networks, you need to know how to filter and understand where your content performs best.
For example, LinkedIn needs to have a more professional positioning and promote quality content to reach audiences who want to receive rich and valuable material. TikTok, on the other hand, favors short, direct videos so that they go viral and reach the greatest number of people.
POS
Points of sale are important branding allies. Knowing how to research and choose the best point to promote your brand allows you to create real connections with audiences who want a unique experience.
One of the best examples is Coca Cola, after all, the famous red color palettes are everywhere, in retail stores, streets, wholesalers and local shops.
Message
Finally, planning what you communicate is the combination of all the elements mentioned above. The message that is passed on to the public and the market defines your purpose as a brand.
You deliver value, and that helps differentiate you from other brands.
To develop good messages, you need to take into account their context, be it social, cultural, geographical, economic or many other decisive factors.
Disney has set an example by placing its theme park in different countries, such as France and China. A detailed study was needed to find out what the French public is like in order to adapt it to their culture.
7 reasons to invest in branding
Branding increases brand awareness
For a person to identify your brand in milliseconds, it's because you've done a great job of branding your business.
This helps to reduce the time it takes to make a purchasing decision, making it natural and easy.
In addition, brand recognition helps to convey the values of your product and service, making people have positive experiences.
Adds value to the business
For a brand to have value, it needs to convey this in its products and services in a tangible way. Whether it's a pleasant smell, a relationship-building message, a charming box, a sound or even the shopping experience with the salespeople.
With this, your brand can increase the value of your catalog without people feeling uncomfortable about paying for it.
The iPhone is the best example of this. Every time a new model is launched, queues of people are formed and they are there religiously. Why? Apple's branding is designed to add value to the product so that the experiences are sensory.
Building trust
Imagine the following scenario: a consumer has gone to the supermarket and is faced with two competing brands of product X.
If she already has a memory, an affective memory, has seen an advertisement on TV, Instagram or Google, she will certainly choose the one that has generated identification and gained her trust in the product.
Therefore, brands need to know how to generate this trust so that people feel safe to buy knowing that they have chosen the right option.
Organic engagement
Branding is a great tool for generating organic engagement. People are sure to feel part of your community to promote your product for free.
This can be done in various ways, through traditional word of mouth, sharing content on social networks and recommendations and evaluations on digital platforms.
Connection
To connect with someone, you need to brand them in a positive way. This identification is done through the emotions that a product or service has caused in the user.
Knowing how to make this tangible is the work of branding to tell stories, connect with marketing actions and build a relationship, from pre-purchase to the decision to buy.
In the same way, you win over users through good experiences. You therefore need to develop strategies that generate connections with customers.
Branding facilitates the purchasing decision
When you position yourself to your customer, you send the message that you expect them to feel when they come into contact with your product or service.
With the shortage of time, people need to decide more and more quickly which product to buy.
Therefore, positioning with all the branding work makes the purchasing decision easier. Whether it's a color, a message or even a sensory experience.
Stand out from the competition
Why do you choose to buy from brand X and not Y? Branding makes it possible to stand out from the crowd.
Creating a personality helps your brand to be remembered more quickly in the face of countless options in an increasingly competitive market.
Every day, you log on to social networks and see sponsored posts offering countless products. And the user needs to quickly filter out what is relevant and what is not.
In this sense, your brand needs to be positioned as a brand of value so that customers recognize this, generating trust when they decide to buy something.
Conclusion
Branding is a volatile methodology. First and foremost, you need to define your values in order to meet the ever-changing demands of the market.
At first, you need to position yourself by creating value for a community so that people have the confidence to buy your products and services.
Remember that branding is not done in isolation. There's no point in investing in a striking visual identity, but forgetting to develop your team's training or your brand tone and voice.
In short, it's an ongoing job that needs attention from all sides of your company so that it creates a complete synergy with the brand.
Therefore, developing branding is a job that requires professionals trained in all areas so that they understand the value of your brand in order to make marketing tangible.
Do you want to know how we manage your brand through branding? Talk to our specialized consultants and stand out from the competition. Click here to find out more.
