Why you should love your brand

Introduction

This episode is focused on making sense of why loving your brand impacts your whole business. The goal of it is to help leaders understand how much the brand impacts their business and give tips on how they can create a brand they love.

It is crucial to recognize the fact that the problem of a bad brand is an all round issue.

Why is a bad brand an issue

The problem of a bad brand is an all round issue, not just a marketing issue it impacts:

• Recruitment
• Team morale
• Awareness
• Acquisition
• Brand Recognition
• Sales
• Retention
• Ambassadors

Importance of branding

Your branding affects many key pillars of your business:

1. Values
2. Recruitment & retention
3. Sales & growth

If you don’t love your brand why should anybody else?

Experienced leadership teams understand the power of a brand to

• inspire employees
• connect with customers
• guide day-to-day decision making

We’d say branding can do even more:

• stimulate innovation – (more on innovation and how critical it is to your business in Episode 10)
• driving new products and services that create new revenue streams
  future business value.

Huge misconception:  if you have a company you have a brand.

However, you can have everything in place for your company including your products, employees and infrastructure but still not have a brand. Your brand is separate from the business aspects of your company, it has a separate value.

The best do it best… Think Google, Apple, Nike, they provide good products but there are equally good products available. What makes them stand out is their branding.

But it’s not only the big names who understand the importance of branding.

• 77% of marketing leaders said that branding is critical to business growth.
• 89% cited brand awareness as their most important goal, above even lead generation or sales.

How does branding affect business growth?

• Boosts your unique value proposition
• Makes you stand out from the crowd
• Increases Recognition
• Improves Trust & Loyalty
• Improves your ROI
• Improves recruitment & retention
• Drives growth

Tips to build a brand you and your customers will love

1. Check out Episode 7 on brand DNA and the resource on DNA Workshops. You must start by defining your brand DNA.
2. Develop a brand that clearly and successfully communicates
   • Who you are
   • Your core values
   • The mission that drives you
     … and resonates with your customers.
3. Your brand should tell a story not be a sales pitch: tell a story that encaptures what your brand does for the ideal customer.
4. Every touchpoint including visuals, blog, phone calls, packaging, socials and website is an opportunity to tell your brand story, so don’t let them go to waste.
5. Don’t be faceless, be human and responsive with your audience: 57% of consumers say that brand’s failure to respond to negative feedback is a good reason to cut ties with that brand
   • Create content that excites and is relevant to your brand
   • Be on the right channels where your audience want to see you

Conclusion

There is no doubt that branding is an essential and core part of any business strategy. As said by Steve Forbes “Your brand is the single most important investment you can make in your business.”

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