A brand is a voice and a product is a souvenir - Lisa Gansky
According to Cambridge Dictionary, branding is the act of giving a company a particular design or symbol in order to advertise its product and services.
Branding is the visual identity of your brand.
Name, logo, packaging, design, colors, etc. are a part of this huge word branding. Although the answers to the question "what is branding" evolved enormously over the years, the very old definition of branding is preached by marketers.
What is Branding?
Branding is such a huge term that a simple definition will not cover the essence of this word. Strong definition of branding requires a decent gas of business, marketing, and human elements. Though the concept is hard to understand with simple language and one definition, we have tried to offer the most complete definition of branding:
Branding is a continuous process of discovering, creating and managing the compiled assets and actions to shape the perception of a brand in the minds of the audience and market.
This definition of branding might be ambiguous to readers but this definition gives more sense to the concept when we die deeper into the concept of branding and its practices.
Now let's dive deep into the definition.
Continuous process
Branding never stops. No matter how old your business is in the market, you never get enough of branding. Market is constantly changing and with the changing market the people's mindset is also changing. Hence, your brand needs to evolve the branding strategy to keep up with the changing market.
Discover, create, and manage
Branding is a well structured process. First you need to discover where, whom and what you are branding. After identifying, it's time to create your brand strategy and then comes the never ending process of management.
Branding assets and actions
Here your visual assets come into play like content, product, graphics, colors, logo, ads and actions like customer support, relationship, services and more. Your brand assets and actions create an image of your brand in the market and in your audience's mind.
Perception of your brand
This is the reputation and authority of your brand in the market and your audience's mind. You build your brand perception through your brand actions and assets.
Audience and market
The market in your audience is the key area where all your efforts come into play. It includes your clients, potential clients, and the segment of the market that will benefit from your services or products.
Why is Branding Important?
Branding is a very important practice in a business. It drives your business and shapes people's perception of your brand. Branding also helps in generating new business, increasing brand value, and gaining people's trust. On one hand, branding is a critical component that boosts your business forward. On the other hand, it can do the exact opposite if not done properly or not done at all.
There is a very common misconception that branding is an expensive marketing practice. On the contrary, branding is about emotions and common sense that can be used and implemented smartly without investing much. Branding is an amalgamation of different strategies, activities and material hence, we cannot identify the exact cost. The price may vary from case to case.
More people start recognizing your brand
One of the most visible benefits of branding is it helps in getting more recognition than without branding. People have a tendency to remember your brand naturally if you have good brand presence in the market. If your brand isn't focusing on branding, your name will not stay in people's mind for long.
Branding helps in creating more customer
The end goal of any business is to generate leads and revenue. Getting recognized by people is not enough, you want to convert them into customers. With a strategic branding, you can not only get people's attention but you have higher chances of converting them into loyal customers.
Build trust in the market
Trust in your brand in the market can make or break your business. The amount of trust people have in your brand is directly proportional to the number of clients you will get.
Improve employee satisfaction
We all want to have the best in life. When an employee works in a reputed and well known company, they tend to be more satisfied in their company. Working for a company that has high authority in the market and is trusted by people makes working for the company more fulfilling and enjoyable.
Conclusion
Branding is most definitely not a one-page subject. It is a subject that is always changing and touches on many fields of knowledge, including business management, marketing, advertising, design, psychology, and others. Additionally, branding has several levels, each with its own structure and meaning. Although it differs from marketing, the two share a lot of similarities, therefore we cannot accept or reject the idea that branding and marketing are in any way related to one another. Their main objective is to support the business, and they are interconnected.
Branding is not every one's cup of tea. Hence, we at PixsMagic make sure that we cater to all your needs.
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