Having a strong brand is the best way to differentiate your company from all your competitors. Many entrepreneurs and small business owners still relate the brand to design. However, it’s important to understand that the concept of branding is much broader than a logo, typeface, and branded colors. Branding has an enormous impact on your bottom line. When you’re selling your products and services, what your customers are actually buying is the whole package you deliver. A strong brand helps you sell more.

Your company’s reputation, customer service and experience, as well as your core values, are just some of the parts of this branding puzzle.

A strong brand helps you sell more

With a strong brand, your products and services can become your customers’ first choice for their purchases. Here’s how your branding can help you grow your revenue and your business.

1. Branding improves recognition

Improving recognition and brand awareness can bring you more customers. The thing is that people are more likely to buy household names even though they’re more expensive than and similar in quality to no-name brands. There are many reasons behind their motivation to do so, and some of them are:

• First-time buyers are more convinced that popular brands will offer a better experience. They believe that an Apple MacBook will perform better than a generic laptop that’s significantly less expensive.
• They want to fit in. Again, Apple comes to mind. Their loyal fans never miss a chance to flaunt the company’s logo on their devices. And this isn’t reserved just for younger audiences. People of all ages and walks of life proudly show off their expensive gadgets, as signs of prestige in their social circles.
• Loyalty to a brand. Brands that never fail to deliver on their promises usually have loyal customers who repeatedly purchase from them.

In order to be in the company of well-known brands that can expect such behavior from their customers, it’s important to polish your branding. Be recognizable on the shelves (both digital and physical ones.)

A distinctive logo that will represent and sum up your brand can help you stand out among your competitors. Superb product quality and outstanding customer support will only cement your reputation.

Use different channels to promote your brand, including social media, email marketing, paid ads, and inbound marketing. Don’t try to cut corners when it comes to branding, because it’s your business identity that’s at stake.

2. A brand gives you a competitive edge

By providing a consistent branding experience, you can establish a competitive advantage for your business and make it stand out from the crowd.

Think of the brand you’re building as a promise you’re making to your customers. The aim of making their lives easier.

To be able to fulfill this promise, you need to base your branding efforts on the thorough analysis of the market, your target audience, and your competitors.

For branding efforts to have effects, find out what your key differentiator is. Discover if your differentiator is your excellent customer service, your price, or the quality of the products that you offer.

This unique value proposition needs to solve some of your potential customers’ pain points in the way which best fits their needs. You must be consistent in delivering it.

3. Branding builds customer loyalty

A strong brand promotes trust, and it focuses on forming meaningful relationships with customers. Such relationships are crucial for building customer loyalty and trust.

65% of a company’s business comes from existing customers, and when loyal, your customers are less likely to churn and put their money into your competitors’ pockets.

When it comes to money, 82% of companies find that retention is much cheaper than acquisition, so it’s another reason to focus on building loyalty.

Furthermore, your loyal customers can be your best brand promoters and ambassadors.

Happy customers will gladly refer you to a friend or a family member, and they are more likely to recommend your products and services by writing positive online reviews.

This way, you’re customers can actually become your nano-influencers, spreading the word about your brand in their own private circles.

When you already have loyal customers for your products or services, introducing new ones to the market is much easier. With a strong brand, you can host a gala event for your next product launch, with your customers anticipating the day when your new product will be available on the market so that they could try it out.

4. Branding gives you credibility

With a strong and established brand, you can become an expert or a thought leader in your industry. There are many steps you can take in order to build a position of a trustworthy and credible source of information:

• Have a business blog where you will provide solutions for the challenges your customers face, as well as discuss news and trends in your industry
• Join social media local or topic-related groups where you’ll help your audience solve their problems, and contribute to discussions
• Guest blog post on relevant websites and portals in your industry
• Take part in webinars and podcasts

When you pay attention to your prospects’ needs and provide them with solutions, they are more likely to take you into consideration when making their purchasing decision.

5. You have control on how much to charge

When you are just starting your business, attracting new customers and clients can be hard. In such circumstances, you are not able to set your own price, and you are likely to charge less than you deserve. With a strong brand, you’ve established your position in the market as a professional, and you can charge more.

When an increase in your price is associated with the quality of your products or services you provide, customers are more likely to take your offer into consideration and make a purchase.

6. Branding attracts the right customers

Apart from helping you keep your existing customers, a strong brand will attract the right kind of crowd for your business.

When your brand identity, values, and tone are consistent, and your marketing message tailored to fit the needs of your target audience,  you will get more qualified leads. This means that it will take you significantly less effort to convert them into buying customers, thus generating more sales.

Yes, a strong brand helps you sell more

When we take all of this into consideration, it’s easy to conclude that branding is, in fact, a more subtle sales approach. If you still don’t have a branding strategy in place to help you establish your position in the industry, it’s high time you created one.

This guest blog article was written by Michael Deane who has been working in marketing for almost a decade and has worked with a huge range of clients, which has made him knowledgeable on many different subjects. He has recently rediscovered a passion for writing and hopes to make it a daily habit at Qeedle.