Brand vs Branding
What is branding, and how is it different to your brand?
A brand is the features that differentiate your company from all of the others. It’s your business name, logo, style colours, design, even your slogan.
On the other hand, branding is how you apply these features to your company to get customers interested in your business. It’s not just a single process; as times change and your business advances, it’s important to reconsider how your business presents to the world and to your customers.
Identity
Branding gives your business an identity. It sends a message to the world detailing exactly what your business is about. Your brand provides a physical indicator of your business and what values you hold as a business.
Strong brand identities are carefully crafted to give the customer the information they need immediately. Take McDonald’s, for example. The yellow arches are a universally recognised sign, and it is easy to see why. The ‘M’ for McDonald’s represents the brand name but is stylised to represent their classic fries, reminding the customer of their fast-food brand. The colour yellow has long been associated with happiness, hence their ‘Happy Meals’, and gives off a fun energy that welcomes both kids and adults alike.
When thinking about potential logos and style colours, take some time to discuss with your designer what you would like your business to stand for. What emotions would you like to receive from your customers? What values does your company hold?
Recognition
When you think of popular businesses, one of the first things to come to mind is how they present themselves. The Nike tick, or the bright red Coles hand, are designed to help customers recognise their brands, even if they don’t remember their names.
Branding helps a company get recognised, and if the logo or design of the business name is well designed, this can happen almost immediately. These essential aspects make up the face of the company; how it is presented to the world.
Unique but straightforward logos allow your business to be recognised, and including your logo on promotional material, advertisements, and particularly your social media can help get your branding and business out there so that customers can recognise it.
Trust
Once a customer recognises a brand and develops a good relationship with the business, they start to trust that company.
Everyone has a particular grocery or department store that they prefer to shop at. Brands like Target or Myer have developed a reputation for stocking high quality – and most importantly – reliable products. When customers see their logos and designs, they trust their business and are more likely to go back and buy their products.
The key to developing trust with a client base is consistency. Unless your company needs a massive overhaul of its branding, it’s best to keep your logo and design the same, at least in the first developing years. Customers need to see your brand and associate it with your excellent products.
Drastically changing your brand can lose customers and their trust in your business. The American clothing company Gap changed their logo in 2010 after 24 years, and its customers reacted so strongly to the change that the company reinstated their logo after just one week.
If your customers know they can keep coming back to your company and receive the same results, they will begin to trust your business. The trust builds through your branding; maintaining a consistent design will encourage feelings and emotions of faith in your company.
Want to learn more about branding? Visit our contact page to get in touch with one of our team members or to book an appointment.