Why Developing a Strong Brand Is Essential for Business Growth

Why do people pay more for a golf shirt with an emblem of an alligator than one without?

Why do Apple users typically have more than one Apple device?

And why did consumers avoid filling up their gas tanks at BP stations after the infamous 2010 oil spill?

The answer to these questions and the common thread that ties them all together is simple in concept but challenging in practice: Brand equity.

Positive brand equity equates to more profit, and negative brand equity equates to the latter.

This formula is not rocket science, however, amassing enough positive brand equity to drive growth is no easy feat. A brand starts as a feeling, or maybe, an idea, and expands over time to become a lever for growth.

But it typically doesn’t do so without strategic intervention.

Enter brand strategy.

Developing a brand that connects with the people who matter most is the ultimate goal of any great branding strategy.

But, as is the case with most relationships, they don’t always start with an emotional connection – this trust and reputation (equity) has to be cultivated over time.

And a lot of new companies get caught up in the details – while important, things like logo design and CTA button colors do not a strong brand make.

It’s how all the parts and piece fit together to deliver a positive experience over and over and over again, to the people who matter most that creates the brand growth engine.

What is a Brand? Branding Definition:

Some say a brand is an identity.

Others believe it is a relationship.

For businesses, it’s an asset that can be envisioned and grown, but once it infiltrates the minds of consumers, it is something that can no longer be easily controlled.

How the world observes, perceives, and experiences your organization is what makes up the core of your brand. 

What do you imagine when you think of Target, Apple or Nike?  

For many people, Target is a red bullseye, and the smell of popcorn. 

Apple – a glowing white apple with a bite out of the side. Futuristic, chic, expensive, yet quality technology.

Nike - the swoosh and “Just do it”. 

All three of these brands have what every great brand experience should offer: the “stickiness” factor.

This stickiness is the secret ingredient in the recipe for building a strong brand, but it’s not just the logo, color palette, or slogan that shapes our relationship with a brand.

It’s the feelings we associate with a company (whether positive or negative) based on our acuities and first-hand experiences that inform our decisions to purchase.

How Does Branding Impact Business Growth?

While we may believe that we are rational, logical decision-makers, it is a well-known fact that humans are emotional beings. We make decisions based on our feelings and then use logic to justify our behaviors.

And as we already discussed, a brand is essentially an intangible concept that represents how we feel about an organization.

Because we rely so heavily on our emotions during the purchasing process, the impact of having a strong brand seems fairly obvious.

If people can’t build a positive connection with your brand on an emotional level, you can forget about becoming a household name.

Does the smell of Target popcorn spark happy memories of Saturday afternoon shopping with your mom? Or does it make you grown because all you can remember is trying on dozens of jeans as an awkward pre-teen, but nothing ever fit quite right.

Make one or two bad business decisions, (like sacrificing the quality of your product for cheaper manufacturing or removing the phone number from your website so that people must go through an automated process for customer service) and you may end up with negative experience after negative experience after negative experience, which, well, can also have an impact on business growth.

And as social, emotional creatures, we love to share our experiences with others. We want our friends to delight in our happiness and commiserate with us when we are upset. Being scorned by a company is one of the most infuriating occurrences because it feels like we’ve been done an injustice – this is something you just can’t keep to yourself.

And when a company goes above and beyond in delivering us a better version of ourselves – we sing their praises from the rooftops.

In either case, whether you leave someone with boiling anger or a little piece of personal joy, you are instilling your customers with emotional memories they will pull from when it comes time to choose between you and your competition.

Whether your brand name ends up being your greatest asset or biggest liability will depend on how consumers and stakeholders build their unique and personal relationship with your brand.

This is why it is essential to have a carefully considered branding strategy in place to act as a guiding light when it comes time to make difficult business decisions that may impact how people experience your brand.