For a business, a brand is much more than just a name. We may think that Nike is just Nike, but the famous “Just Do It” is also part of its brand, just like the red of Coca Cola or the unmistakable ringtone of the Nokia phones from the 2000s.
Your business's brand is the first step to success, just like a good melody is the first step to a good song. And there is no better sales tool than building a good brand.
When we talk about a brand, according to the AMA (American Marketing Association), we mean “a name, term, design, symbol, or other characteristic that identifies the goods or services of one seller as distinct from those of other sellers.” In other words, it is what makes our business unique and can be reflected in different concepts such as brand value, style standards, or elements of visual identity such as the logo or corporate colors, to name a few examples.
Branding is essential because it is the process of creating a brand, which is essential for any business to function. To establish a good brand, you need to do polished branding work studied by a team of professionals capable of polishing our virtues and with the ability to capture everything that we are.
Why having a strong brand is important for your business
The main objective of a business is to achieve success and a strong brand is one of the tools to achieve this. Creating a good brand can get us new clients and keep those we have already gained. It allows us to connect with consumers and get into their heads to always be present, like a teenage crush.
A strong brand can be the only one to blame for hooking buyers, an example of which is Apple. This brand has a group of groupies behind it who would follow it no matter what it does. If it sold clothes, the brand's followers would buy them. If Apple released an energy drink, it would be top for its job seekers phone number data fans. Apple as a brand is the clearest example of the power that it can have in your business. Everything surrounding Apple is Apple. Its stores, its product packaging, its advertising messages, the communication of its new products, its colours, its website . Everything is designed to have the essence of Apple as a brand. And it is so established and strong that it has the license to, for example, raise prices without affecting its sales too much, or to release new phones that barely differ from the previous generation.
Having a strong brand is a way of gaining the trust necessary for your customers to become loyal, to leave a mark on them, to be remembered as a brand. It is a tool to stand out from the competition and to gain repeat business. There are people who always buy the same brand of milk, always consume on the same streaming platform or always wear the same brand of clothing.
If the brand is consolidated and gains reliability as well as loyal customers, we will have a reduction in marketing expenses and an increase in sales. We will grow and outperform competitors and we will be able to face possible crises much better. In addition, a strong brand is a dream brand for employees (look at Google) and loved by customers.
How to have a strong brand
The name, the pillar of the brand
If a friend introduced you to Juan, Víctor, Sonia, Luis and Attila, who would you remember the next day just by their name? The first step in remembering someone (or something) is the name, which is why this is the foundation on which your entire brand should be based. Something easy to remember, powerful, stylish, original. Think of big brands. Surely names like Zara, Adidas, Tesla or Chanel come to mind. It is very unlikely that you think of long names or names as complicated to pronounce as Renée Zellweger's last name.
That doesn't mean that more complex names can't succeed, but it does make the job more difficult, so forget about putting obstacles in your way and think of a simple, creative and evocative name that is easy to remember . Nobody said it was easy, but we can tell you in advance that it's not impossible either.
Branding + Visual Identity
The second point after the name is to work on branding and visual identity , and it is the most important point to have a strong brand. Visual identity could be defined as what we see: logo, colors, typography and other visual elements that are applied, for example, to bags, business cards or email signatures. And the term branding refers to the entire process of defining and building a brand image, including visual identity.
Think of Porsche. It is a brand that exudes elegance and luxury, just like its cars. Its values are reflected in its designs, in its way of communicating, in its social networks. It has worked on both branding and visual identity in each and every one of the elements that make up the brand, from the logo to the name, including the product itself.