The importance of your brand.

Branding is the art of identity. It’s storytelling, as much as it is a meditation on the values that shape the relationship between your business and your audience. 

The most effective business strategy would be dry and lifeless without good branding. Ultimately, branding is directly connected to your reputation and your future. Therefore, it is imperative for businesses to build a strong brand from the outset to maintain consistency as they grow. Because, when it comes down to it: branding is everything.

Here’s why branding matters: 

It's like meeting someone for the first time: the first impression is always impactful.

If you aren't sure who you are as a brand, then your audience won’t know either. Branding is immediate storytelling, and it’s a story about a personality. Establish brand definition with words that can be used to identify personality traits, i.e., soft, radiant, confident, quirky.

What is the tone of the brand? The aesthetic? What does your brand like about itself? Every brand should be described using a few words. Ask questions to your brand as if you would to a person. 

When you establish your brand, you’re more capable of connecting with employees, customers, potential clients, and the general public. But not all relationships are love at first sight! Some take time to nurture and develop. The relationship between a potential customer and your brand can be a gradual courtship over a long period of time. You may need some time to establish your reputation, and let your audience know more about you, and open up a little more, which is just another part of the importance of building trust with your brand. 

Branding builds confidence — for your business and for your potential clients. It takes guts to create a terrific brand. You must be strategic, be intelligent, take some risks — and, yes, it’s also true that it takes skill.

It’s no secret that some of the most acknowledged and profitable brands did not become successful because of a unique product or experience but because of their amazing brand confidence. 

Whatever your brand, make sure there is a defined meaning behind it, as well as an establishment of goals. Great branding is more than just your logo, font and colours. There is an intention, motivation, an obstacle, and a tactic behind what your business does — it’s the same for your brand.

Branding communicates your values to your audience. Extremely lucrative businesses have well-defined missions and visions. Your core beliefs are important when justifying your brand identity, and presenting it to others.

The top brands can get even better. There is still company growth and development over the years, and the same should be for your brand. Rebranding is an important process for a company. Indeed, defining a great brand is a fundamental pillar of digital transformation.

What values do you retain for your current clientele, and what is the new message you want to send to your prospects? And then, of course, there’s the hardcore rebrand — the reframing that leads to an entirely new identity.

Wonderful brands generate growth, plain and simple, but they also unite an audience. Strongest brands create the strongest connections, and they are able to affect a significant part of their user's life. That's the most powerful branding type at work - when you’ve told the story, that is also someone else’s story. You've brought humanity, and you’ve brought the understanding of struggle and that your client can depend on you when they struggle in the future. They will also tell their friends and family about their success, and this leads to brand longevity. 

Create a story with your brand. Successful brands that have a good message that make people feel good or give back to the community or society as a whole have a tendency for success. Brands that donate their time because it is compelled to make a difference. A brand that says it’s not all about the money, but about the people, with an understanding of what their target market struggles with and how to solve it — will be a successful one.

Your logo will also have a lot to do with how your audience perceives your brand. An aesthetically clean logo — no-frills, straightforward, chill, but not too sophisticated — will speak to a certain demographic. A logo that is accepting, open, and inclusive will speak to a broader audience. 

Do not underestimate the importance of branding! It is a business's fundamental strategy!