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The importance of branding and the value it can add to your business!
I think getting your branding right is the foundation to any business, it is the key to your success, it will either make your product/brand look professional or shabby (and I don’t mean that in a disrespectful way and believe me, I say it with gritted teeth). There’s nothing worse than creating a beautiful website for a client who has had their branding done years ago and not updated it, I just feel like, it lets the whole website down (again that’s only my opinion, you may think different). We all have different tastes (thankfully) but if you ask for my opinion on something, I will give it (although very awkwardly).
I love branding, I particularly love the “clever” logos, I mean some of them just blow my mind.
So, what do we mean by branding?
I think most people think branding means a business logo and a few years ago, it probably did but things have moved on since. A logo obviously is a big part of it but branding is more of an overall arching concept. Your branding is almost like your brand’s personality. Your logo, your colours, your concept all represent your brand and its personality shines through from this. Much like your dress sense is your personality…although I always wear black but I am in no way a dark person (yikes I’m not selling this at all)!
For example, if you see someone at the airport with Louis Vuitton luggage, it immediately gives you an impression of them and their lifestyle. It’s a luxury brand, so immediately you will think luxury lifestyle.
Why is it important to brand?
Impact
When I’m designing for a client, I want their brand to look good! Everyone knows that first impressions are so important. It’s a well known fact, that you have fifteen seconds to convince your potential customers.
To convince them, you need to visually communicate what your business is about and why they should become your customer.
If you didn’t see my instagram post earlier this week, I shared some free image stock websites you could obtain images from for social media or your website…why?…because an image tells a thousand words. Our brains process images much much quicker than text, so given that we have fifteen seconds to make a first impression, your branding is so important. Your website has to tell your visitor what you are all about before they leave!
Judgement
Unfortunately, people judge a book by its cover, it’s human nature. The same can be said about your website, no matter how good your product, if your website doesn’t look the part, it can really put people off. On the flip side, good branding can really give you a helping hand, particularly when you first start out.
Value/Recognition
Successful branding will add value to your business. In a way your brand is worth more in value than your physical assets. Your brand has a reputation and can increase your business’s value. When you see that person at the airport with the LV luggage, you knew what that meant, the brand’s value came to you straight away.
Standing out
This is a biggie for me personally. In this day and age, it’s so important to stand out from the crowd, stand apart from your competitors. If you have a strong brand that differentiates yourself from the other brands in the same market, then you are going to stand out to your ideal audience. You’ve got think out of the box not blend in with the crowd.
In today’s modern world, branding is more important than ever.
It can take years to build brand awareness. Branding, if good, can increase the value of your company and make acquiring new customers so much easier.