Written by Marta Hackett
What is branding? For new small business owners, understanding the art of branding can be a challenge.
But with a bit of knowledge, you’ll feel confident and empowered to elevate your brand. In essence, branding is how a person intuitively feels about your business.
A brand is a reputation. Designers use logos, taglines, patterns, colours, textures, fonts, packaging and more to craft a visual identity. But I want you to know there is so much more involved.
ometimes people can use the term branding interchangeably with the term logo or business, and it’s wise to understand that isn’t quite right. Instead, you should know: A brand is not a product.
The logo is a symbol, not the brand. A brand is not just a promise. A brand is a reputation. A brand is made by a customer/client assumption and experience within the business. As a well-known and respected branding master, Marty Neumeier says: “Your brand isn’t what you say it is. It’s what they say it is.” From a strategy point of view, that might sound like a paradox, but it’s not.
Designers use brand strategy to inform the visual identity (logo, colours, fonts, patterns etc) to position your brand to influence the customer or client on what to think about the brand.
So, use strategy and design to your advantage. When consumers buy from you, they are buying into their individual identities.
Shopping at a store is more than a purchase, it’s a way to express themselves. If they value quality, they will be happy to pay more for a service or product. Take Levi jeans, for example, you can get great quality clothes at a fraction of the price of Levi’s products. But Levi jeans have a reputation for high-quality garments that stand the test of time.
If customers value flexibility, people will want more options in their service. Take a look at Anytime Fitness, Snap Fitness or Maryborough Fitness and Bodyworks. They are 24/7 access gyms. If you join one of these gyms, you gain the flexibility to train when it suits you, and you get a healthy range of equipment to choose from.
But why would someone buy a membership from Maryborough Fitness Health and Bodyworks over Anytime or Snap? It’s because of their story. Maryborough Fitness Health & Bodyworks is a locally founded gym. The owners Chris and Tina Black love people, fitness and community. The owners are an integral part of the Maryborough community and people who value family, connection, and safety will choose this gym over franchised gyms because it aligns with their values.
Branding is powerful. Elevate your business and invest in branding. Need your questions answered?
Send me a DM @The_Solutionist