Apple, Samsung, Huawei, Rolex, Gucci, Toyota, Mercedes, do these brands sound familiar? I am sure you can easily recognize what they represent. Without being told, you can tell which is a mobile phone brand, a car brand, or a clothing brand. You can equally point out which brands portray luxury and which ones don’t. I could go as far as assuming you can identify each brand’s logo.

This is the power of branding, and it is one of the most important aspects of any business. Let me work you through the different aspects of branding, and how to create a unique brand for your business. 

What is a brand?

A brand is a name, logo, design, idea, slogan, product, and anything that can be used to identify a business. A brand is an embodiment of everything a business represents, that is, its image, identity, and customer experience. It has to be unique and easily recognizable. 

It distinguishes the products or services of one company from another even if they have the same function. For example, Toyota and Mercedes both manufacture cars but they are different brands and so their products carry different identities peculiar to each brand - such as the logo. 

Branding is the process of building a brand. It involves coming up with a logo, a name, and values, building a positive reputation, and making a brand easy to remember. Suffice it to say, branding and marketing are often used interchangeably. 

However, branding and marketing are slightly different. Branding focuses on the company and all that it represents, marketing is more concerned with getting the target audience to know about the brand. 

Needless to say, if you do a good job branding your business, then marketing becomes quite easy as the brand can sell itself without the need for expensive marketing campaigns. 

I came across this article that talked about why Japanese companies do not advertise product quality when marketing their products. I don’t know if this is a fact or not but the idea behind it struck me and has stayed with me ever since. 

Most companies try to tell you their product is of good quality. In reality, you don’t get to be told if or not a product is of high quality. You form your opinion on this based on your experience. 

That’s more like what branding is all about. Customers can tell if a product is of premium quality and deserving of its price or if the company is trying to sell an inferior product at a premium price. 

The fact is, once the customers have formed an opinion about the company’s product, it becomes associated with the brand and can either earn the company more money or cost them a fortune.

I guess the best way to say this is that marketing can drive customers to patronize your products but branding is what keeps them coming back. A good marketing campaign that isn’t backed by a positive brand image will eventually fail. 

But a good brand image is in itself a marketing tool that speaks for itself as customers are bound to recommend your brand to friends and family. 

Brand identity vs Brand Image

This may seem nuanced but it’s worth mentioning since we are talking about branding. In previous paragraphs, you might have seen me mention brand identity and brand image. To avoid confusion, I thought I should explain this. Think of branding as a coin; the brand identity and brand image are two sides of the coin. 

Brand identity includes everything that the brand owner (the business or company) can control and uses to build its brand. Things like brand logos, brand names, brand values and mission, brand slogans, etc. all fall under brand identity. 

Brand Image is a subjective perception that consumers have developed for a brand. This opinion as I mentioned is based on experience. It is how people feel about a brand and the emotions they associate with it.  Between the two, brand image holds a stronger sway. This is why entrepreneurs should pay attention to customer experience KPIs like the Net Promoter Score. 

How to build a brand that sells

Building a strong brand is not impossible. However, it requires a bit of creativity and brainstorming for ways to effectively communicate the values and purpose of your brand. You do not want to give off the wrong impression to your target audience. 

A wrong slogan, logo, and even color can alter your brand’s image. Here are tips on how to go about building a strong brand. The first place to begin is obviously where you have the most control and that is creating a brand identity. 

The first things to consider when forming a brand identity are the brand name, logo, mission statement, and vibe. To help you set this up, you can look back at the story. 

‍The Story

Every great brand has a great story. Think of the stories behind companies like Apple, Amazon, and even Facebook (which was adapted into a movie called “The Social Network” in 2010). So what's your own story? Think back to why you decided to start a company. What motivated you? What challenges led to that decision? This requires some reflection but it is well worth it. 

‍The Logo

A picture is worth a thousand words, so the logo says a lot about your company. It is the first thing your customers will see and associate with your brand. So the logo should be unique, easily recognizable, and memorable. When creating a logo, you need to pay attention to the color palette being used because it also affects how the brand is perceived. 

‍The Mission statement

A mission statement explains why your company exists and what it is trying to achieve. The mission statement guides the company’s future and gives your customers an idea of the company’s purpose and direction. Here are the mission statements of some famous companies.
Bringing the best user experience to its customers through its innovative hardware, software, and services - Apple

‍Give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together - Facebook

‍To organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful - Google

‍The Slogan

A slogan is a short phrase that is easy to remember and instantly captivates your target audience. They are catchy and must align with the value and purpose of your brand. There are several brand fails that all had to do with a bad or poorly articulated or interpreted slogan. 

‍The Vibe (Theme)

Vibe refers to how your brand makes people feel. There are several things that all come together to create a vibe. This includes typography, sounds, imagery, tone of voice, color (which we discussed earlier), and customer service. Your goal is to create a vibe that matches your brand's values. 

For instance, a shoe company may want to motivate its customers to run or work out. Creating a vibe that is the exact opposite of this will be contradictory and would work against the company. 

Remember

Creating a successful brand begins with asking yourself some important questions such as; What do I want my brand to say? How do I want my customers to feel? How do I want my brand to be perceived? What are the brand’s values? Questions like this will guide you when deciding on the brand’s logo, color, theme, and slogan. 

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