Why is Branding Important? Steps to Launching a Successful Brand
Branding is such a crucial component in the building of a brand, and when done seamlessly, the consumer will not even know what they are seeing and believing has been carefully crafted. If we look at the most successful brands of our time, they have perfectly curated their brand. Nike has become synonymous with quality and endurance, and Red Bull is associated with extreme sports and challenging what is possible. If you want to conjure a following and a feeling within your market, then it needs to start with great branding.
Do your research
It might not seem like the sexiest step in building your brand, but doing market research is a critical step in identifying market gaps. Your research is also going to illuminate who your market is and what they intrinsically need. Creators and leaders can often fall in love with an idea that they think will work, but cannot get out of the way and do the research to find out if that is true. Your Melbourne web design agency and partners are also going to query your research so that they can produce a purpose-fit product.
This kind of research cannot be conducted in a day, and lots of businesses will actually hire a brand design agency to do this unbiased research. Focus groups, desktop research, interviews, critical research and market trends will form the basis of this research process and will be invaluable in creating a brand.
Brand identity
Now that you have done your brand research and have a better understanding of who you are speaking to, the fun can really begin. Designing your brand identity is about crafting colours, language, imagery and digital experiences that will reach that audience. This is a big job, and once again, most new brands will enlist the help of an agency to roll this brand out. The importance of a visual brand identity goes beyond aesthetics and is actually about instilling brand recognition and brand trust in your audience. Brands like Mcdonald's and Subway have created strong brands so like the colours and a single ‘M’ or ‘S’ can communicate to the customer that they are seeing a Mcdonald's and Subway brand.
Communicate directly to your audience
You only get one chance to launch a brand, so you want to do it correctly. It’s hard to go wrong when you are directly communicating with your audience on the platforms that they use and interact with. If you are selling accessories to millennials, then it might not make sense to advertise them in a newspaper. Similarly, Instagram ads for retirement plans will not be the right strategy for your audience. Get started on a few platforms and test some content to see what resonates and find where your community lies. Once again, research can be invaluable in finding out where your audience interacts online.
Over time as your brand matures, you can conduct surveys and connect with your audience in even more meaningful ways to glean greater insights into your brand. Successful brands pivot to market changes and new social climates, so approach your brand with an agile mindset.
The lifetime value of a customer
The data well and truly supports the idea that it is more cost-effective to retain a customer than to market to and secure a new one. When you build a successful and recognisable brand, you can have a more reliable set of customers in your orbit. We are more likely to support and purchase from the brands that we know off the top of our heads, as we know what they offer and what they are about. We are less likely to invest in random brands that have not got a clear brand look and feel.
Consider your brand to be one of the most powerful propositions you can offer your audience. You also can market a lot less when they can already fill in the blanks. They know who you are, what you value, where to find you, and what your stances are on social and other relevant issues. Certainly more than a logo and a colour palette, your brand is the identity you put out there and your opportunity to sway fickle customers in an overcrowded marketplace.
We hope you understand what solid branding can do for your business and how it can supercharge a brand launch. Don’t rush this step and launch right for the greatest impact, as taking your time to really understand your brand and your goals is truly the secret to success.
