Whether your business is small or big, it is important to have a brand for your business. Branding is the identity of your business. For instance, when you think of Nike, you imagine footwear; when you think of Apple, you imagine smart gadgets (iPad, iPhone); or when you think of McDonald's, you imagine burgers.
Branding includes the tone of voice or speech, colors, customer service, and all other aspects that relate to the customer's experience. The brand of your business should be the first to be interacting with your customers. So, if branding is important, why should you do brand for your business? Let’s use Nike as a brand of example as we go into the reasons.
Recognition
When your company or business has its brand, it will improve its image even more. Like mentioned previously, your brand is the identity or the “face” of your company or business. If the logo of the brand is simple but powerful and gives a deep impression, people tend to remember them more.
Looking at Nike’s logo, it is simple, easy to remember, and it made a big impact on the audience. It’s just a simple check design but people would recognize them without having to take a wrong guess or search up on the internet. Even if people make edits to the logo, it would still be seen as Nike.
Legitimacy Or Trust
People tend to trust brands that are well-known and/or polished so that they are more comfortable buying the products without having to worry much about the quality they will be receiving. Previous buyers with reviews or feedbacks are part of proofs that take part in trusting the brand.
The more other people trust the brand, the newer customers are comfortable in purchasing their products/services. Nike is a trusted brand with great qualities that keeps on improving on its products/services for the customers which now checks for its authenticity for cases of ripped-off versions.
Loyal Customers And New Customers
There’s no doubt that when your brand is trusted by your purchasers, that you would gain some loyal ones. The ones that would be updated with your newly released products/services.
These loyal customers will be supportive of your brand and spread positive reviews to their network. It would then lead to your brands having new customers as they heard a word-of-mouth from others.
Emotion
Humans are such an emotional creature and using it as an advantage is a good strategy. All that's needed to do is to create an impactful storyline that builds emotions for the consumers to feel or care something towards your brand so that they have a reason to purchase it.
Nike commercials rarely insert their product in it but instead, take their slogan and use it for their emotional branding. Each ad or campaign they have created would end positively.
Nike's "Maybe It's My Fault | Nike" featured Michael Jordan, the commercial was one of the most inspired ads. It showed that even Jordan himself worked for basketball "every. single. day." and not just a given gift. Therefore, the Nike Air Jordan shoes are purchased by people.
Supporting Marketing And Advertising Efforts
Marketing and advertising are important components of branding. Because a brand is an identity, it already has a clear message and personality of the business making it easier to market and advertise.
With a clear and defined brand, it's easier to imply the emotions of your customers into marketing and advertising. From the last point, it was mentioned that Nike does an emotional branding, feeding the consumer's needs and feelings and making them satisfied with Nike's products.
The most recent video of Nike, "Play New | Nike", narrates how trying something new is a win even if it may not pretty in the beginning. A story to which people could relate a lot.
Branding is the identity of your brand. It's how people see your business and from what message they can take from and what will make the audience a memorable impression.