5 Strong Reasons Why Branding Matters

The importance of branding in today's world is undeniable. According to studies done last year, almost 90% of consumers agreed that the company's authenticity played a crucial role in whether they like a company or not. On top of that, the respondents said that their decision to buy from the company largely depended on whether they trusted it or not. Different ages, genders, and income and cultural groups participated in these studies, making this data relevant to the global market and true to all sorts of business sectors.

The stats indicate that authenticity and trust are crucial factors for businesses to succeed, whether they want to stay afloat during the post-pandemic period, kick-start new projects, or emerge victorious in some local ventures. This means that branding that guarantees authenticity and builds trust is a top priority for companies regardless of the niche, scale, and target audience.

Still not sure? Let's consider some other strong arguments concerning this matter.

According to a recent survey, almost 80% of marketers consider strong branding a crucial factor in future growth; therefore, they recommend delegating this task to a professional branding agency for startups.

Let's consider other statistics that support the importance of branding:

• A brand that stays consistent across devices, social media, and other distribution channels, including the real world, increases revenue by up to 30%.
• Almost 90% of customers stay loyal to brands that share their values, stick to their philosophy and live up to their expectations.
• Staggering 95% of respondents agree that first impression matters. Therefore, surveys show that the majority of businesses invest in visual identity (an integral part of branding), thereby compelling visitors to stay and work with the company, turning cold leads into warm ones.

Branding has always been important for a company, whether it serves the local market or international one, whether it is just a startup at the very beginning of the journey or it is a well-established corporation with a wealth of experience, whether it is a small grocery shop or it is a vast hosting platform pulled by cutting-edge technologies. However, in today's world, it has become even more important. And there are some good reasons for that. Let's find out why does brand matter today?

• We are living in an era of one-person agencies. Standalone artists from all niches seek self-realization, enlarging and diversifying the already saturated market. As a result, consumers are spoilt with choice. Strong branding separates the company from a mass of similar offers, helping it carve a niche for itself.
• Thanks to social media, consumers get exposed to new companies every single day. This promotion puts a strong temptation on your clients to try something new. However, quality always wins quantity. Good branding helps your customers resist this temptation and gets them back in case they succumb to it.
• Colossal content overload has drastically reduced attention span. This means that your brand will be quickly forgotten, and your clients do not need any reason for leaving you behind. Good branding builds an emotional connection with the audience. It tugs heartstrings and reminds of the company, leaving an indelible and unmistakable imprint in memory.
• It takes at least 5 interactions to make people remember your company. Each such interaction should have a positive experience; otherwise, this number of interactions will double or even triple before your company gets its place under the Sun in the user's memory. Good branding with excellent customer support and customer appreciation campaigns make this happen. It is also here where the importance of branding strategy comes to the fore.
• Products have a limited life cycle, and with the oversaturated market, this cycle is drastically short. However, trustworthy companies may enlarge it by capitalizing on customer loyalty.
• Sixth, products like trends come and go. However, companies with well-established and perfectly-managed branding live forever, providing owners with new opportunities to generate revenue.
• Everyone wants to be a brand nowadays - it is mainstream. The web is teeming with digital entrepreneurs, social media influencers, bloggers, artists, and freelancers. Can you imagine today's life without brands? I bet you cannot. Your company is no exception, and it should follow this tendency to keep up with the rest and meet the market's demands and expectations.
• Tough competition. As banal as it may sound, but it is a strong reason why matters brand nowadays. Competition is already cut-throat. To make matters worse, the market is overloaded, whereas the economy almost stagnates. It becomes tougher and tougher to convince people to stick to your company and buy from you. Along with maximizing the quality of products and services, good branding helps advocate your brand and face this challenge.

These reasons should answer why does branding matter in today's world. If you still doubt, we will give some other conclusive proofs a bit later in the article.

Good branding is increasingly influential in what it can do, but it is not easy to reap all those benefits. When it comes to nailing branding and opening its potential, the first step is to understand what stands behind it.

This marketing concept is tricky, and it is a complex and vague term that can be interpreted differently, causing confusion. So, what does it take to create a good branding that will meet the market's expectations and level up your game with all those great benefits? Let's get to the root of the matter and find out what it is all about.

However, gone are days when this description was the only accurate one; now, it is surface-level information. This marketing concept has expanded so that even its exhaustive definition in a well-renowned Cambridge dictionary that touches its marketing and advertising aspects does not give a complete picture.

Branding is a complex term that may confuse marketers since it plays many roles, affecting different aspects of the business and marketing strategy, starting with real-life product advertisements and ending with email campaigns. Therefore, let's turn to the definition that marketers stick to these days, which considers branding a continuous and complicated process, not a static thing.

So, as professional marketers put this, branding is a process of building a solid perception of the company and its products or services. It gives meaning and even humanizes the company to make it closer to the target market. Not only does it shape a brand in consumers' minds, but it also retains this image and strengthens it over time.

As you can see, there is so much more that goes into it.

What Does Branding Entail?

People may believe that branding is only a look, aka bright or brilliant logotype or a fancy mascot, but it is much more than a visual identity. Branding is a complex term with an exhaustive definition that evolves with the community and market's demands.

While visual identity was enough to ensure your company had good branding several decades ago, today, branding requires hyper-personalized experiences that stay consistent across multiple platforms and social media channels. To back up this, consider the recent studies that show that almost 75% of consumers name stellar customer support as one of their top priorities and decisive factors when choosing to proceed with the company. Therefore, many successful companies invest a bulk of money into their customer success teams and propaganda of their philosophy and values among the employees so that they can deliver it to clients.

So, what does branding entail these days? According to marketers, branding is a set of perceptions that customers have about your brand and actions your company takes to shape the overall image and cultivate its philosophy and values.

Branding includes such essential elements as:

• Brand definition: It implies the values and philosophy of your company and promises that you give to your clients that you need to fulfill to build an unrivaled reputation.
• Brand statement: It is your mission statement that defines the purpose of the company.
• Brand voice.
• Brand atmosphere.
• Brand guidelines. The importance of brand guidelines is indisputable. They encompass everything between mission statement and vision and underlie everything from customer support to an in-store experience.
• Visual identity. It includes logo, color palette, typography, mascot, website, and additional assets like business cards, flyers, brochures, etc.
• Product and packaging design.
• User experience: in-store, online, in digital newsletters, and across social media.
• Customer support.
• Strategies in offering services as well as pricing strategies.
• Advertising and promotions.

On top of that, you should bear in mind these critical features of branding:

• It is an ever-lasting process that requires the company to adjust its brand to meet the target market's current standards, needs, and expectations.
• It is a process of translating your values into assets. Your values should also be reflected in your actions.
• It is an ever-evolving strategy with a mix and match of tactics that affect the company's overall image and perception.
• It impacts not only your loyal customers or prospects but also employees and business partners.

Branding is a vast concept. You need a thorough understanding of business, marketing, and even human relational disciplines to nail it.

What Is the Rationale for Branding?

With such a vast and complex definition, it comes as no surprise that you may feel lost. And many marketers do. However, there is a way out, stick to the rationale behind branding, and everything will fall into place.

The purpose of branding is to promise your clients to stick to specific standards with your product, user experience, and attitude to the customers. Whether you create a website or run bus advertising, all actions that you take should be made with your standards in mind. This will build an excellent reputation, establish trust, increase credibility, win over lost clients, drive engagement, generate revenue, and most importantly, help the company prolong its lifetime, overcoming all the crises on its way.

Branding is not only visual identity. It is a process, strategy, and a bunch of values, guidelines, and goals. A lot has been said about matter branding these days. Let's sum up and highlight the five most vital reasons why branding matters and why you should invest in it.

Branding is not only visual identity. It is a process, strategy, and a bunch of values, guidelines, and goals. A lot has been said about matter branding these days. Let's sum up and highlight the five most vital reasons why branding matters and why you should invest in it.

1. Ensure Better Customer Recognition

First and foremost, why do brands matter is that they provide better customer recognition. The market is oversaturated; therefore, standing out from the crowd is getting more challenging each day. Strong branding with eye-catching, memorable, and meaningful visual identity, excellent customer support, great user experience, and the right attitude towards customers help separate the company from the pack and achieve better recognition.

2. Increase Customer Loyalty

As we have already mentioned, products have a very small lifecycle, whereas companies may live forever. To live forever, they need a club of ardent fans who will support the company and continue returning to make purchases. Just consider the studies done by Kettle Fire that back up this:

Almost 50% of US consumers purchase gifts from companies they are loyal to during the holiday season, and more than 40% of these respondents said they would spend more if necessary.

A strong branding that meets customers' expectations, treats them with respect and, most importantly, appeals to emotions, and makes them feel more connected to your company do three crucial things:

• It inspires loyalty.
• It enhances credibility.
• It ensures authenticity.

This trio of qualities turns prospects into the company's evangelists. This forms your party of aficionados that help the company see through all obstacles brought by various generations and fluctuations in the market.

3. Acquire New Customers

Do you know that almost 60% of shoppers prefer to buy new products from the brands they trust? Trust is one of the main pillars of converting prospects.

Numerous approaches help build trust: you can quantify the company by showing impressive numbers, qualify it by showing famous clients and share testimonials and reviews. However, all of that will be in vain if you have a poor reputation. Reputation is everything in today's world. How to ensure you have the best one? Invest into branding because it directly translates into reputation. The stronger brand you have, the better your reputation will be.

4. Increase Revenue

Do you know that selling to the old customer is three times cheaper than to the new one? On top of that, according to recent studies, people who already bought from the company are likely to come back and make another purchase, thereby increasing their customer per value.

Existing clients are the lifeblood of every business. Therefore, retention campaigns are one of the most crucial in marketing.

All the retention campaigns are built around capitalization on customer loyalty. This means that strong branding that keeps alive customers' faith in a company should be a top priority.

5. Provide Higher Employee Motivation

Branding is a two-way street. Not only does it affect the market, but it also has a particular effect on the company's staff itself. Consider these stats:

• Great branding can bring the expenses related to hiring and training down by as much as 50%.
• Businesses with poor branding pay 10% higher salaries because more than 90% of employees would consider leaving their job in favor of a company with a better reputation.

Strong branding that ensures a good reputation secures the flawless work of your employees, which translates into better leadership, better collaboration between departments, better customer service, and more involvement and motivation.

Bring an Extensive Range of Benefits

Last but not least, good branding brings an extensive range of benefits such as:

• It instantly catches an eye.
• It leaves a memorable impression.
• It produces a powerful first impression.
• It tells a story without words.
• It builds trust.
• It strengthens credibility.
• It creates an emotional connection.
• It makes customers feel privileged.
• It makes the company feel professional.
• It makes the company look "expensive."
• It influences the company's perceptions.
• It builds up a reputation.
• It helps your company to get overall recognition.
• It cultivates a sense of belonging.
• It turns indifferent audiences into company evangelists.
• It builds a community around the company.
• It compels customers to make the right decision.
• It transforms first-time buyers into lifetime customers.
• It takes a company to the next level.
• It hints about tactical advantage in determining the best way to market your products.
• It drives engagement.
• It plays a critical role in customer appreciation campaigns.
• It plays a crucial role in retention campaigns.
• It helps build effective and successful digital mediums like websites, landing pages, social media, and emails.
• It helps run successful real-life and digital marketing campaigns.
• It triggers word of mouth that is the cheapest channel for acquiring new customers.
• It gives a head start to the new company.
• It keeps the old company afloat.
• It finds new channels for distribution.
• It helps to expand the market.
• It attracts the right type of crowd.
• It makes people happier.
• It translates into revenue.

Does branding really matter? If so, why brand matters?

Some companies believe that branding is everything, stressing out the brand identity importance, while others pay no attention to this marketing concept whatsoever. There is no consensus. However, it should be pointed out that the lion share of marketers believe branding to be a crucial factor in future growth. Also, the studies show that in post-pandemic times with overwhelming social media, content overload, and market abundance, your company will face the toughest competition. Many strategies can help to face it, and one of them is to increase brand equity. Therefore, good branding matters.

Last but not least, remember, the brand is like reputation. Whether you put your heart and soul into it or ignore it at all, your company is still a brand in people's eyes. The only thing is, if you invest in it, you get a chance to control this perception and make people arrive at correct conclusions, creating the required brand image for your company.