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There’s no doubt, your brand is your business’s intangible asset. It’s also a fact that branding takes time and a whole lot of effort and discipline (from everyone on your team – your marketing department to your sales people). However, like any growing business, you probably say, well, I already have so many things on my priority list — I don’t need another one. Here are a few scenarios when branding is critical to your business’s development, and should definitely be on your priority list today:
A Fresh Start
- You are starting a new company
- You developed a new product
- Entering new markets / demographics
Whether it’s a completely new business, new product or a new market you are expanding into, your branding is here to communicate this fresh start with your customers. A strong branding strategy not only captures your customers’ attention, but also creates a trust value in your brand. In this case the first impression is important more than ever. You only have one chance to either gain a customer for your brand, or turn your potential client to your competition. This is definitely the case when the book is most often being judged by its cover. If the cover doesn’t communicate a clear value to your customers from the get go, it will be more and more difficult to capture their attention as time goes by.
A New Identity
- Company merger
- Our name misleads customers
- Our name no longer fits our business’s vision
It’s true – a right name is timeless. However, when your business’s direction changes, reflecting the new brand promise in your organization’s name is a logical and holistic branding decision. An effective company name is meaningful, it incorporates and transmutes the essence of the brand. Vice versa, if you are changing your company’s name, you most likely want to review, all other brand assets, to ensure your branding stays future-oriented, positive and visual, pointing in the direction of the new promise.
You need to revitalize a brand
- We are no longer in the business we were in when we founded the company
- We want to appeal to a more affluent market
- Need to raise venture capital
At its core – branding is all about customer experience. Either it’s a consumer goods industry or a service-oriented business – the vast majority of purchases these days are inspired by a positive image, an emotional connection, and a trust factor oozing from a brand at every single touchpoint with their customer.
Real, honest, down-to-earth, and reliable is what customers are looking for in a brand. How you show it in your brand – visually or otherwise – is a job of your marketing + branding department. Whether your customers can feel it or not, that’s a bigger job for your whole team.