Branding 101: A Beginner’s Guide

No business in the entire human history ever managed to be successful without having powerful branding behind their products or services. Branding has immense importance on the success of a business, and every business needs to take it seriously. It is through branding that the world has a way to perceive your business.

Suppose you have high quality branding that strikes the right code with the audience, and when this has the backing of a good product or service, the sky will be the limit to the extent of success that your business can achieve. To prove this, simply look at world renowned brands like Coca-Cola, Apple, McDonalds, and IBM amongst others.

Brand Discovery

Before you are in a position to benefit from the strengths of your brand, you have a difficult but a noble duty of discovering the brand and understanding what it stands for. Remember, it is your branding
that will determine the perception of the public about your business for the entire duration that you will be in operation. It is thus of immense importance to take the time and brainstorm on your products and services so that you develop an in-depth comprehension of what your brand is so that you win the hearts of the public.

The Brand Audience

Understanding the brand audience is one of the most important tasks that you have to get right if you want to see any worthwhile success with your brand. It entails conducting a thorough research on the market not only to discover who your potential customers are but also to know who you will be competing against.

Your desire is to find a less crowded section of the market where your products and services are likely to have the most impact. It is not advisable to go for the colossal brands since it will entail a lot of capital and resources that might not be available, especially when you are just starting out. However, a thorough analysis of the market will reveal several deficiencies where you can position yourself and create a loyal brand following.

The Brand Message

As noted earlier, out of the brand, the world will have a perception of your business, and this makes your brand message vital. Remember, you have a tiny window of opportunity to make the right impression and ensure that the message is delivered effectively when your brand is seen for the first time. It thus makes it necessary to create a brand message that will express the personality of your business, and be coherent throughout your marketing materials for creating consistency.

The Brand Image

The brand image simply refers to how your brand looks like and the image has everything to do with the logo of the business and the entire design language, skills, styles and resources that were expended in creating it. The current trends in logo design tend to suggest that minimalist designs and solid color solutions tend to give the best results. However, you should focus on the future and not base your designs on trends and fads.

A good solution would be to use the services of professional logo designers, discuss with them your needs and tell them exactly what you intend to achieve with the logo and let them help you come up with a professional logo. Have in mind that your potential clients and customers are visual beings, and it will be easy to strike a good rapport with them if you present them with beautiful logos that are professionally designed and can capture their imaginations as well as expectations on the first look.

Brand Marketing

Marketing is imperative for the growth of any brand. But for greater success, not just any form of marketing will give you the results you need to grow your brand. The marketing should be well coordinated and specifically target a predetermined audience that is likely to be interested in your products and services.

Again, the brand marketing should be designed in a such a manner that it will be in tandem with your brand’s personality. When just starting out with the marketing, you may want to include certain techniques geared towards raising curiosity and expectations so that the audience can keep anticipating what you are up to. In the present times, you should utilize every relevant marketing avenue without forgetting about the power of the internet and social media marketing.

Is the brand delivering its promise?

Finally, the brand message must be in a position to deliver the marketing message it had promised to the audience. The brand must be backed up by quality products and services presented in a unique manner to create value. If you audience doesn’t enjoy your products and services because the brand fell short of delivering on its promise, then you better forget about growing a brand with a loyal and fanatic following.

Check out these unforgettable brand logos!