Having a strong brand is what sets businesses apart from others in their field. Your business has a brand whether you like it or not. No matter the size of your business, whether you’ve just started up and are focused on making your mark in the market or are a grand old name from days gone by with a great reputation, it all comes back to brand.

But what does it mean to have a strong brand?

Originality trait

The brand contributes something fresh or authentic to its consumers. For instance, a brand might deliver value in a way that’s not available elsewhere or deliver on an emotional level.

A strong brand is the sum of all experiences a customer has with your business and how these experiences add up over time. You want to create a consistent experience for your customers where they feel like they can count on you for an authentic product or service offering.

That means that you need to be aware of what makes your company unique from other companies in your industry, as well as how you present yourself publicly and privately. One of the ways to do this is by building an internal culture by hiring the right people with the right mind set and skills.

Intangible qualities

Intangible qualities of a brand will be experienced but cannot seen. It could the overall brand experience, or the personality in which you connect with your customers or an internal company culture which might reflect externally in brand activities as well.

You need to think about the brand experience. The experience you create for your customers will determine whether or not they do business with you again. You don’t want your customers to remember only what happened—they should also remember how it made them feel.

You need to consider the brand personality. What does your business stand for? How does it fit into its industry or community? Is there a story behind it? If so, how can you share that story in a way that resonates with people who aren’t familiar with what makes up your company and what differentiates you from competitors?

Think about culture as well: What kind of workplace do employees enjoy working in each day; what are some aspects of their daily jobs that make them happy; where do they go after hours; who do they spend time with outside of work? These questions demonstrate how strong of an impact culture has on attracting new talent and maintaining existing employees by making sure everyone feels valued and appreciated at all.

Consistency in brand communication

A strong brand will be able to convey the personality of your company, as well as its visual expression consistently over time.  In order to communicate a consistent message, you need to have a clear idea of what your business is about.

A strong brand is recognizable from every level, from the company’s website to its packaging and to its customer service. The look and feel should be consistent across all touch points so that consumers can easily recognize the brand at a glance.

The voice of your brand should be unified across all channels including social media posts, newsletters, advertising copy and even employee training materials if they are used.

It’s critical that each aspect of your business’ overall messaging is aligned with one another so that consumers have a consistent experience when interacting with you – whether it’s through digital channels or face-to-face interactions with employees who represent your company publicly (i.e., sales reps).

Why start with Branding?

If you are wondering if you should brand or market your product, read this article for a quick rundown of some reasons to explain that Branding precedes Marketing.

Commands a premium price

Marketing a brand as ‘cheap’ will not work on building a business on a long run. Loyal customers are willing to pay 20% premium for the brand of their choice. When people are ready to pay a premium price, the brand is strong enough to stay for long.

You can gauge the strength of your brand by asking:

• Does your brand command a premium price, and not just because it’s new or trendy?
• When consumers are shopping for products, do they think of your company first when they see competing brands’ products?
• Do you regularly hear from customers who believe in what you’re doing enough to refer their friends and family to buy from you?

Researching & gathering insights based on the above questions will give you rich data on whether your brand is on stronger side or weaker side. Additionally, this exercise will give you an idea on the areas of improvement that can be done in order to build a strong brand and command a premium price.

Promotes loyalty

Trust is an essential part of building a strong brand because it helps build loyalty—which in turn leads to growth and profit! Trust is built through consistent and transparent communication with customers, through quality products and services offered by the company (and not just empty promises), through ambassadors sharing their own experiences with others, and so on.

If you’ve built up a strong brand, your customers will be loyal. They will know what to expect from your business and how to interact with it. They trust you because of the relationships you’ve built over time.

Loyal customers are willing to recommend the brand and are more likely to buy again, which means that the business has a strong relationship with its customers. This is when a loyal customer becomes a brand ambassador.

Influences buying decisions

A strong brand influences buying decisions and helps the customer choose them over their competitors. It’s why someone keeps buying Toyota cars over and over again or becomes an ‘Apple’ product person.

Customer buying decisions are influenced by a number of factors. One of the most important factors is trust.  The customer trusts a brand when he/she believes that it will deliver on its promises.

A brand has to establish itself as an authority through its actions and communications. It should be able to convince its customers that it is trustworthy and reliable.

The customer buys from you because he/she believes that you will give him/her what he/she wants or needs. If your product does not fulfil this promise, then he/she won’t buy it again no matter how cheap your price is! Its vice versa when your brand is strong enough.

Conclusion

Your brand is important, whether you’re a large business or a start-up. It’s something that will last long after you’ve created your product and are no longer actively marketing it. So take the time to create something strong and unique. Your efforts could pay off in the long run.

The above six traits of a strong brand are not only important to have, but are also the core components that will grow your business. If you have these qualities in place, then you can build trust with your customers and potential customers that will help drive more sales.

To talk more about branding or get help in building a strong brand for your business, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team.