What Is Brand Marketing?
When you think of big names in the industry, like McDonald’s, Nike, and Coca Cola, they all have one thing in common: they all have strong branding that’s instantly recognized by people all over the world.
It may not seem apparent, but branding can be very instrumental in your marketing and can directly affect your sales. In this article, we’ll discuss what brand marketing is and how it can be beneficial for your business.
What Is a Brand?
First, let’s define what a brand is. On the surface, it may seem literal and similar to what cattle ranchers do with their “products.” For example, Domino’s pizza boxes look like dominoes so they’re recognizable from a mile away. This can be powerful just on its own, but in most cases, this just scratches the surface. Beyond visual markings to identify who you are, the world of branding and brand marketing is complex and difficult.
Though a logo can represent your company, it is such a small part of your overall brand. Your brand is about the emotional appeal it has in the hearts and minds of your audience. It is about identity, personality, and business traits, but it is also about feeling, attitude and values.
What Is Brand Marketing?
Brand marketing leans on the power of your message, personality, and values to capture attention and create loyalty.
In today’s world of competitive marketing, it is not enough to have a good product or great services. Consumers are not as loyal as they used to be, so whether it is good pricing or the next-best-thing, they can be attracted to another brand or company if that brand or company doesn’t have an inspiring message or alluring personality. So when you can sell your brand first, regardless of product attributes, you will be ahead of the game in your marketing.
Brand marketing connects your audience with your brand so that your prospective customers will buy more, more often, over a longer time period. They will also talk more about you to their peers so that your company’s sales grow more organically.
Why Is Brand Marketing Important?
Brand marketing is important for your business because your success depends heavily on your reputation and trustworthiness. If your brand isn’t established as a trusted leader that is in touch with who you are and what you stand for, you’ll have a hard time convincing people to use your current products or services, much less try new ones you come up with in the future.
Think about brands like Apple. While other brands may be cheaper, you know and trust that Apple for their ingenuity, their cool personality, and their strong values for cyber protection and privacy.
Advantages of Brand Marketing
While you have to make more of a financial commitment to brand marketing, it’ll all pay off in the long term if you do it right. Here are some advantages you’ll get from brand marketing.
Be an Industry Leader
Most industries are filled with stiff competition, so it’s vital you stand out. Customers usually make a mental shortlist of companies they’re considering for a service or product, and you want to make it to that shortlist.
When you have strong branding, you have a better chance to jump to the head of the mental list. When they’re browsing a list of potential companies online, yours may stand out if your marketing is good and your brand is solid.
Better Performance for New Products or Services
When you’ve already established your company as one that’s reliable and trustworthy brands, consumers will be more willing to try out your new products and services. While most would be wary of new things, if customers know they can count on you, they’ll even eagerly anticipate the unveiling or release of your innovations.
Cultivate Customer Loyalty
Customers who feel a connection and emotional relationship with a company have a 306% higher lifetime value. Plus, they recommend the businesses they trust at a rate of 71%, which is significantly higher than the average of 45%.
Based on this information, it’s extremely important you connect with your customers and grow trust. This trust translates into loyalty, which means you’ll have to spend less on acquiring new customers. Instead, much of your business can rely on retaining current customers.
Higher Pricing for Your Products or Services
A strong brand allows you to price your products and services higher. If you develop a loyal following your followers will most often stick with you even if they have to pay more.
If you can position your brand so that associating it with higher pricing means better value and a better deal, it can be a win-win for all. You’ll be able to price your products and services higher without losing out to the competition.
How to Build a Brand Marketing Campaign
With brand marketing, you have to tackle every move from a strategic standpoint. Here’s how to build an effective brand marketing campaign.
Think About Your Company’s Vision and Identity
To establish your brand, you have to think about your vision first. What kind of message do you want to send to the world? Do you want to be seen as an everyman brand, or do you want to be seen as a hero, pushing the industry’s limits?
Your brand’s vision and identity will play a huge role in every visual and verbal element, stylistically and in tone.
Establish Your Target Audience
You can have a strong brand identity, but if you market to the wrong people, you may not resonate with them. For instance, if you want to be a daredevil brand but your target audience is conservative and elderly people, you probably won’t get a favorable response.
Always Be Consistent
Once you’ve decided on things like logos, company colors, and messaging tone, make sure everyone consistently uses it across all platforms. You don’t want to confuse consumers by being a jester on one channel and completely serious on another. The key to branding is consistency.
Get Your Brand Name Out There
Although there are different types of marketing your company can utilize, brand marketing is definitely one to prioritize. It sets the stage for your brand name to be recognized and trusted by people all over the world. Once this happens, then all other aspects of marketing can fall into place.
If you’d like help with brand marketing for your business, please get in touch with us today.