What is Branding:
Branding is currently the main force capable of differentiating a brand from its competitors, as currently innovation and differences in functional terms of products and services do not remain exclusive to a company for long.
Because of this, branding emerges as a tool to make consumers desire your products or services for something beyond functional attributes and that cannot be copied. By creating a story and meaning for your brand, every offering you deliver will be connected to your brand's unique purpose.
It is important to remember that branding is not just about creating a logo, defining colors and tone of voice for the brand. To obtain concrete results, it is necessary to carry out strategic brand management that aligns all sectors of the company around a unique benefit for the customer, through a strong brand in their mind.
Next we will present 5 advantages of branding for your company.
Attracts the right people
With a clear positioning of why your company exists, everyone who comes into contact with it will understand whether the values are aligned, thus creating greater synergy between those involved. This applies to both consumers and agents in the production chain, such as employees and suppliers.
Increase alignment between areas of the company
The alignment between the company's areas is optimized, because by having a clear objective of where you want to go, the different sectors will be able to know whether their activities contribute to the objective, in a simple question.
- How is the activity I am performing aligned with the company's objective?
It is possible to create specific objectives for each area, so that they are linked to the main objective and thus become even clearer if the activity carried out by the area is aligned with the company's general objective.
*A methodology that performs this function effectively is the OKRs (objectives and key results).
Generates brand recognition
When managing a company based on the brand, one of the medium and long-term benefits is the recognition that is created among consumers in the segment. As a result, you gain referrals from customers for your social circle, thus generating free advertising.
The level above referrals is when your brand becomes synonymous with the product. As a success story, it is possible to note Cotonetes, which is a registered trademark of Johnson & Johnson, but which has become synonymous with flexible rods.
Adds intangible value to the business
After your brand is in the minds of consumers, the attributes that are characteristic of the product are added to the brand's identity.
A study carried out by psychologists proved this. Participants were separated into two groups, the first was exposed to Apple products and the second to IBM products. After this exposure period, both groups had to write a free essay on a topic of their choice. Then, in the correction it was found that those who were exposed to Apple products were more creative in their writing and those exposed to IBM products were more systematic and organized.
This study proves that the attributes of a brand remain in people's unconscious, even affecting their behavior during use. Therefore, a strong brand creates a great competitive force, because by having a good image in the minds of consumers it is possible to sell different products aligned with the same promise and thus generate sales based on the trust that was previously built.
Increases return on marketing investments
Branding is a methodology within the field of marketing, but when implemented, all areas of the company must work together. Although all areas have to make efforts to create effective branding, in fact the area that benefits most is marketing.
This is due to the well-defined brand image, which consequently facilitates the work of communicating and promoting offers. Because when creating a brand identity, it becomes easier to identify customers who identify with its attributes.
How is your Branding?
- If someone asks your employees what the company's mission is, will they know how to answer?
- Does your company have a brand personality? In other words, if she were a person, what adjectives could be used to describe her?
- Is the brand(s) of your products easily recognized in your market?
- In a dilemma, is there any guiding value for your employees to make a decision?
- Would you say your brand is humanized?
If you answered no to more than one of these questions, your company probably does not have its branding well managed. If you want to create a strong brand in the minds of your customers, thus creating a competitive differentiator that is impossible to copy, get in touch and we will be happy to help you.
