Introduction To Brand Strategy

Course Overview

What is Branding?

Branding is one of the most important aspects of any business, large or small, retail or B2B. An effective brand strategy gives you a major edge in increasingly competitive markets. But what exactly does “branding” mean? How does it affect a small business like yours? Your brand is your promise to your customer. It tells them what they can expect from your products and services, and it differentiates your offering from your competitors’.

Your brand is derived from who you are, who you want to be and who people perceive you to be. Is your product positioned as a high-cost, high-quality item, or as a low-cost, high-value service? You can’t be both, and you can’t be all things to all people. Who you are should be based to some extent on who your target customers want and need you to be.  The foundation of your brand is your logo. Your website, packaging and promotional materials–all of which should integrate your logo–communicate your brand.

Why is Branding Important?

Your brand is the source of a promise to your consumer. If you’re billing yourself as the manufacturer of the longest-lasting light bulb, your brand has to live up to that. It’s important to spend time researching, defining, and building your brand. In developing a strategic marketing plan, your brand serves as a guide to understanding the purpose of your key business objectives and enables you to align the plan with those objectives. Branding doesn’t just count during the time before the purchase—the brand experience has to last to create customer loyalty.

Good branding makes employees feel like part of the team. Employees who are proud to be associated with the business will be more engaged and motivated, which in turn helps attract new potential customers. Branded apparel, marketing materials, and business cards using the company’s color palette will give your employees a visual identity, a sense of belonging, and connection with your mission statement.

Branding also assists with finding your target audience and ideal customer. It is essential to consider the key elements of your branding early on which includes color schemes, core values, buyer personas, and a mission statement to get the best results. You will find that it will save you time and money in the long run.

Branding not only creates loyal customers, it also creates loyal employees. A quality brand gives people something to believe in and something to stand behind. It helps employees understand the purpose of the organization they work for. They feel like they’re a part of something significant.

Did You Know

• Branding can account for as much as 30 to almost 50 percent of a company’s value.
  
• According to Accenture, 66 percent of consumers think that a company’s culture and transparency entice them to buy from them, and 62 percent want companies to speak out about problems that they care about.
  
• Building trust is a key component of a great brand identity, with 81 percent of consumers citing trust as one of their top deciding criteria when making brand purchasing decisions.
  
• It can take up to 5-7 brand impressions for someone to remember your company.
  
• More than 72% of your customers will interact with your business via your website.

What You Will Learn

• How to create a brand and what makes a brand successful
• How to build trust in the marketplace
• What makes a good logo
• Where to place a logo on your marketing materials to increase exposure
• How to manage your brand reputation.

Who Should Enroll

• Small Business Owners
• Entrepreneurs
• Anyone Interested in Learning About Branding

Listen to our Branding Series at The Knowledge Catalyst podcast.