Branding in the 21 Century

Branding is the most important aspect of business in the 21 Century.  Whether you sell cookies or cars, B2C or B2B a strong brand can mean the difference between growth and death for your company.  A brand is much more than a catchy logo and slogan.  It defines your company.  Having a solid brand strategy gives you a major advantage in increasingly competitive markets.

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The most important thing to remember about your brand is that it is intangible.  It’s not your logo, website or packaging.  Your brand exists in the minds of consumers.  It’s a promise to your customers.  It tells them what they can expect from your products or services and differentiates you from your competitors.  It tells people who you are, what you do, why you do it and who you want to be.

If it isn’t already, developing a strong brand strategy should be on top of your things to do to build your business in 2016.  A brand strategy defines how, what, where, when and to whom you intend to deliver your brand’s messaging.  Imagery, text, ambassadors and even voices are all part of your brand strategy.  Your chosen distribution channels are part of your brand strategy.  Where and how you advertise is part of your brand strategy.

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Consistency is key to branding.  Strategic and consistent branding increases brand equity.  Brand equity is the value added to your product by your brand.  This added value allows you to charge more for your company’s products or services compared to identical unbranded products.  The most obvious example of this is Coca-Cola.  Coke’s powerful brand means that it can charge a premium for its product versus generic sodas.

Brand equity and the added value often comes from emotional attachments consumers form with brands.  Athletic equipment and sportswear manufacturers like Nike, Adidas and Under Armor pay incredible sums of money to associate themselves with star athletes like Michael Jordan, Messi and Jordan Spieth in hopes that consumers transfer their emotional attachment from athletes to products.  It takes more than looks and features to sell sneakers.

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Your brand will represent your business when you are not around to sing its praise.  Therefore it is important that your brand convey exactly what it is you want people to understand, think and feel about your business.  Building your brand’s identity is like a journey of self-discovery into your business.  It can be incredibly time-consuming and, at times, uncomfortable.  But if it’s done properly it can serve to grow your business long into the future.

At very least you must answer four questions to understand your brand’s identity.

Do your research.  Learn how to think like your customers.  Learn their habits, wants and needs.  Don’t assume that you know this already.  Make sure that you aren’t guilty of thinking you know how your consumers and prospects think.  Know what they want and give it to them.

Defining your brand and building a lasting and effective brand strategy is difficult to do on your own.  RDM can help you build strong brand with a lot of equity, building top-of-mind awareness with your consumers.  We can design a great logo and tagline for your business.  We can develop a brand strategy utilizing both online and offline channels to deliver consistent branding to consumers.  For more information about branding and to see how RDM can help build your brand and your business contact us by email at info@rdm.ng.

Article by Adam Jagich

This is a feature by RDM