The Impact of Branding

When you think of a “brand”, your mind will usually gravitate toward well-established companies such as Ford or Nike. These companies have worked for decades to build their brands in both the offline and online marketplace. The impact of branding cannot be understated. It’s more than just a logo or a catchphrase, though those do help.

Instead, branding is a way of doing business. From start to finish, let’s look at the impact of branding and how it can have a direct effect on your company’s bottom line.

Your brand is your identity

“Built Ford Tough.” Even if you’re a Chevy loyalist, you are at least aware of Ford’s well-known slogan. However, one bad experience can sour a customer on your company for years.

That’s why we say that branding is more than just slogans and logos. It’s the experience you provide. Branding takes all of the feel-good concepts of relationship-based selling and runs it through a very specific filter: the perception that a customer has of your company.

Your brand is also your reputation

That’s why it’s important to remember the impact of branding goes well beyond the psychology of colors or fun jingles on the radio. It’s the entire customer experience rolled into a singular concept: your reputation.

Do customers see your company as someone who can come up with fun ideas but never execute them? Or have you built trust within your customers, enough that this next significant impact of branding?

A strong brand creates customer loyalty and referrals

Online marketing, as it emerged in the 2010s, transformed “word of mouth” advertising into “world of mouth.” What this means is that we moved beyond outbound interruption marketing and toward social proof.

Have you ever asked for a recommendation on Facebook for a particular service such as your trash hauler or a general contractor? Those referrals are social proof. And they’re as much a part of branding as your logo because these “world of mouth” referrals are helping create new business for your company.

When someone sends their family and friends your way, it’s an excellent example of the impact of branding and how critically important it is to your success.

How you respond can make your break your brand

If a customer interacts with your company online, be sure to engage with them. This means responding to bad reviews as much as general inquiries. The way you respond should reflect your brand’s standards. It might feel frustrating at first to see an unfair negative review, but a balanced reply will only serve to reinforce your company’s commitment to customer service in the eyes of other consumers.

Branding is even more important in an ever-increasing competitive marketplace

We buy from brands we trust. There’s a reason Nintendo and Sony are reigning supreme in the video game console market and Sega is only a software developer. Their missteps with the Sega CD system, followed by even more with the Sega Saturn, and finally with the Dreamcast, led to the downfall of their console-based business. Even though the Dreamcast may have been technically superior to the existing systems on the market, the damage had been done.

And remember, we’re talking about a branding misstep from almost 30 years ago. In today’s online and ever-connected marketplace, competition is at an all-time high. The impact of branding is felt ever more strongly when trust in your company is high. When that trust gets broken, it damages your brand’s image.

How to establish your company’s brand

Branding is not a one-and-done process. Rather, it’s an ever-evolving and ongoing approach that everyone on your team must be committed to. It starts with your logo, your mission, your slogan, and your choice of colors. It continues with consistency in messaging, creative initiatives, and customer interactions. The impact of effective branding includes loyal customers, loyal employees, and increased market share. Those three details alone should make a dedicated evaluation of your branding one of your primary goals for the rest of the year.

Wherever you’re at in this process, we would love to help. Our team can evaluate and identify areas of improvement as well as put you on the right path toward building a strong brand identity. Would you like to contact us to learn more? Then call Brandtastic at 813-441-0275 or send us a message online!