Branding is an essential part of every business. It is the identity of a business, a corporate face that makes a business stands out from other brands that offer similar services. Some companies have competitive advantage due to the reputation of their brand and this is due to history of service and outstanding quality.
Often times you go shopping for either clothing or other accessories, you decide for yourself which product is more superior to the other by the popularity of the brand. This is a common human behavior. A popular brand such as Louis vuiton would be preferred to some unknown brand because of the name the company has made for itself and its reputation for quality no matter how durable and sophisticated the other product looks. This is the power of branding.
The importance of branding cannot be over emphasized even though it has its challenges it is definitely the best step in gaining market shares. An identity that exudes confidence and professionalism, one that drives purpose and gives the feel of sophistication, this is what every business should try to achieve.
Branding a business comes with creativity and a vision for future projection. There are certain things that should be put into consideration or form the basis for the forms and type of branding. Listed below are the necessary elements of a branding process;
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Company logo
To build a house the first step is usually to lay a solid foundation, this is also applicable to branding. The company logo usually comes first. It is the backbone on which every other structures rest on. The logo is found on every document, every printed or published material, every mint and publication. It is usually the first thing you notice and the distinctive emblem that makes the company easily identified.
Creating a logo requires a good knowledge of graphics design. Most companies outsource the project to a branding agent in order to get various quality prototypes before deciding on the best combination of color, font and identity.
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Find the best Tagline
Most businesses hardly spend time thinking about a great tagline. They simply create a generic one that covers the services they offer. This is completely wrong as lots of other brands that offer the same services are likely to use similar taglines leading to a collision of interest. Rather, it is best to make this decision as a team, bring in stake holders and decide upon a tagline which gives the right perception about your business.
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Build a company culture
Great companies are built on a solid company culture. This culture outlives any particular individual and is passed on from top hierarchy to the bottom. This culture should be inviting, professional, and should foster a solid relationship between team members and clients.
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Establish consistency
Some brands find it difficult to stay consistent throughout a year. There are so many changes every quarter. This is usually caused by a change in economy or adopted by the management to maintain competitiveness but this isn’t very advantageous as it leaves a lot of gaps and makes the system vulnerable. There should be consistency in operational tactics and management in order for culture to be well grounded and recognized by the public.
People find it easier to trust and patronize a company that has a culture of consistency as this is a sign that it would stand the test of time.
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Don’t refuse affiliation
No man is an island. This popular saying applies to business brands. Starting up a brand can be quite tasking and the biggest part is gaining people’s trust. A lot of resources go into marketing and all forms of strategies built to gain peoples trust. If a credible company offers to team up with your company in order to achieve a common or beneficial goal it is probably wise to take this offer as this would also make their clients your clients and their successes your success. Most people are usually uncertain about affiliation because of some policies or laws that may be unfavorable at the onset but it’s worth a try if collaboration would get your company on the map quicker.
