6 reasons why a strong brand is important for your small business

1. Improved recognition
Successful branding improves the recognition of your business and your products or services. The logo will appear on every piece of promotion and communication from your company and is one of the most important elements of your brand.

For example, imagine your brand is releasing a new product. The logo enables instant recognition and association with your brand values, making the customer more inclined to purchase from you instead of your competitors.

A professional logo design should be:

• Memorable, making an impression upon first glance
• Convey the right message about the business, encompassing your brand values
• Simple and clear
• Unique and distinctive
• Scalable

2. trust
Trust is the most important component in a relationship between a brand and the customers. Your brand values must be built into everything you do, and every customer touchpoint. A professional and polished company appearance across all customer engagement platforms will help to build trust with both existing and potential customers. Trust is a key element of increased customer retention.

Integrated branding reinforces your business’ reputation and expertise in its field. Successful branding, therefore, makes customers more likely to buy your products, or use your services.

3. Employee engagement
A strong brand can motivate employees to carry your vision forward. If the company’s mission and purpose are clearly communicated and integrated, then this will be understood and carried forward by employees who can align with your brand values. Alignment with brand and company values is a critical element of employee engagement, which in turn, drives customer satisfaction.

4. New customers
Successful branding can generate new customers through word of mouth referrals. For well-established brands, this will be one of the company’s best and most effective advertising techniques. The cost of new customer acquisition can be reduced in this way, as your satisfied customers become your brand’s best advocates.

If your brand is not ‘front of mind’ then this crucial form of free marketing is inaccessible, even if customers enjoyed your product/service. Similarly, if the customer experience from your brand is negative they will not recommend your business, and may even provide a negative review, resulting in a loss of customers.

5. Increased business value
Effective branding creates strong brand equity, meaning you can charge a higher price for your products compared to the identical, unbranded version. An obvious example of this is Coke vs generic soda.

Your brand becomes synonymous with high-quality products and services and high value for the customer. Using your customers as advocates also reduces your advertising spend, meaning your marketing overheads could reduce.

6. Differentiation
Branding helps set you apart from the competition, which is critical in today’s competitive, worldwide market. Make your brand stand out by creating a positive customer experience with a product or service they will enjoy.

Your brand represents who you are, what you believe in and how you want to be perceived by your audience. It is your promise to the customer, so they know what to expect from your products or services and can align with your brand values. That is why branding is so important to an organization.