What is a Brand and Why Do I Need One?

A common question I get from new business owners is, “What is a brand, and why do I need one, anyway?”

It’s a great question!

Branding can be confusing and often gets mistaken for marketing and advertising. While they’re all aligned, your brand is who you are as a business; while marketing and advertising are activities that you do.

Understanding your brand is a critical?part?of running a successful business and standing out in a crowded marketplace.

So what exactly is a brand?

A brand is a totality of who your business is.

It’s your personality, your tone of voice, your fonts and your colours.

But your brand is more than that. It’s also your reputation in the market and the experience your clients have when working with you.

The good news is — these are all things under your control!

When your brand accurately reflects who you are and the work you do, you set yourself up to attract your ideal clients and grow your business.

So let’s talk about the various aspects of a brand, why you need one, and what to consider when defining your own.?

A brand is an experience:

In the olden days, a brand was simply a mark that identified a company, like a logo. But today, a brand is?so much more!

A brand evokes images, memories, thoughts and emotions in someone’s mind. Think: Coca-Cola, Nordstrom, Apple. They all have their own distinct, yet different characteristics.

Here are a few more definitions:

• A brand is the?overall experience of a customer?that distinguishes an organization or product from its rivals in the eyes of the customer. –?Wikipedia
• A brand is a?promise?to your customer. It tells them what they can expect from your products and/or services, and?it differentiates your offering?from that of your competitors.
• A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories?and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another. – Seth Godin

As you can see, a brand is a?holistic experience,?not simply one thing.

What is branding?

Branding is?the process of creating your brand. A successful branding process requires developing key aspects like:

• Brand personality.
• Brand values.
• Brand promise.

…and, as a basis for those things, you need to know and be able to communicate

• What you do & why it matters.
• Who you serve & how will you help them.
• What makes you different & why they should care.
• Why people should choose you over the competitors.
• What people can experience as a result of working with you.

The branding process starts with YOU, and that’s why it’s so important to have a deep knowledge of who you are and why you do what you do, because that is the foundation for your brand and what people will resonate with.

Branding is the process of addressing the above questions, creating a strategy, then executing this strategy, so that you can communicate who you are as a business/ person wherever you are.

Why do you need a brand?

By now you have a greater understanding of what a brand is and why you need one.

You have an opportunity to define your brand, including everything from your values to your positioning and client experience.

Defining a strong brand can be the difference between your ideal clients signing up to work with you or with someone else.?

Ready to get started on building your brand?

Book your consultation NOW!

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