What is a Brand? -

Branding is a vital part of any marketing strategy, and is equally important for businesses operating online. Get your branding right and it will keep your business at the front of customer’s minds, boost sales for your products, and could even allow you to raise your prices. In a series of posts throughout January, we’ll be discussing the power of a brand, why re-branding is important, and the explaining the impact of brand personality. But before all that, we need to cover the basics and answer the question: “What is a brand?”

The definition of a “brand”

Whether we notice it or not, everyone interacts with brands on a daily basis. All products we buy will be branded by their company, whether it’s clothes, food, cleaning products – or almost anything you can imagine. You may even have some favourite brands who you regularly purchase from.

According to the dictionary, a brand is “a type of product manufactured by a particular company under a particular name”. In other words, a brand is often a logo, name, word or design that companies use to distinguish their products from others in the market. Brands are used on packaging, letterheads, promotional material and in advertising campaigns – all to reinforce the public’s association with a businesses’ brand and its reputation for quality products. The same applies online – a company’s brand should be carried across to its website, in the same way that a shop’s signage should reflect the businesses’ logo, design qualities and colour scheme.

Why is branding useful?

Brands create a relationship between a business, its products, and most importantly – its customers. A business that develops a strong brand that engages with the public will be able to use their reputation to increase sales of other products and attract new customers. If a customer likes a particular brand, they’re very likely to keep returning and purchasing more products from that business.

A powerful brand can even allow businesses to raise their prices – customers will be willing to pay a premium price for access to a well-known, respected and trusted brand.

How does it apply to the web?

Online branding is just as important as the branding of a business’ physical products. In order to work effectively, branding needs to be consistent across a business’ product range, packaging, store front, and website. Customers who are familiar with a business’ logo and design may be confused if they visit a website that doesn’t reflect or reinforce the brand they’re familiar with, which will most likely discourage them from interacting with a site or making an online purchase.

Branding also needs to be applied to social media – profile images and design should reflect the businesses’ brand, logo and website. This will help reinforce a positive relationship between a business and its customers. For example, if someone sees your business responding to a tweet and helping out a customer, they will start to associate your brand with good customer service. This relationship will stick in their mind, and will make them more likely to trust your business in the future due to your good reputation for customer service.

Need help with your branding? Contact us today.