If you own or operate a business then you should know that branding is part of the formula that will ensure your business’ success. It is important that you know something about branding, how it works and how it can contribute towards your success.
In this article you will find a simple guide to branding. Like all of o5.com’s recipes for life, the tips are practical and to-the-point.
But what is branding?
Simply defined, branding is the process of giving your product or service a unique identity or brand that people will be able to recognize and identify as yours. A brand will make sure that your product or service is unique from the same products or services being sold by other manufacturers or businesses. A successful brand is able to give the product or service its unique personality and can evoke specific emotional or subliminal reactions that may not even be found on the company or the product itself.
How do I develop branding?
A brand is developed by taking into consideration many things. This includes:
a. Target market. What are its preferences or interests? What are the things that would attract them to look at a product or service and buy it?
b. The geography. What is the culture in a particular area? What is the weather? What is the population composed of?
x. The marketplace. How does the marketplace work or operate? What are the quirks of a particular market? What buying habits should be considered? Is there a product or service gap? Is a product saturated in the market?
The factors above are just some of the many things that come into play when creating a brand. The data taken from the factors are assessed and analyzed, and from there the following steps are taken.
Creating the Brand Name
This is usually done by the owner himself, or if he has a larger organization, his marketing department. For companies that have a bigger budget, they usually hire specialists like advertising agencies. (You can also read our article on choosing a business name.)
Creating the Brand logo
A professional is usually hired to do this. By thinking of the name and what the company wants the brand to invoke or represent, the logo is created. The creation of a logo is oftentimes given to an advertising agency or a design company. There are now design companies that specialize in the creation of logos.
Developing the brand personality
Alongside the brainstorming sessions for the brand name, the personality of the brand is usually discussed. Creating the personality is as important as creating the brand and logo. This responsibility is often given to the marketing department or the advertising agency. The marketing strategies are also handled by the marketing department or advertising agency.
The combination of market studies, brainstorming and the efforts of the company and the third party contractors help build the brand. The branding efforts will help in sales and in bringing a large customer base for the product or service.
Photo from futureofrealestatemarketing.com