Branding is a word that lives in the ears of everyone in the business world as a high -pitched and consistent ring. “Are we growing the brand?” “Are we hurting the brand?” “Yes, but it needs to have our branding on it.”
It’s there because branding can have a huge impact on the perceived value of a company. We’ve seen multiple branding clients sell at unprecedented prices or surpass their revenue goals within 6-8 months of launching a new or refreshed brand. It has very little to do with visuals and everything to do with the intentionality that goes into the brand. Your brand is way more than a logo. It is the culmination of everything you say and others say about your company, which includes the visual presentation of what you say.
Building a brand that lasts hinges on one thing: trust. Trust is the highest function of a brand and the catalyst to achieving it is consistency. Every interaction your customer has with your company should be consistent in message and visual identity so that you become recognizable. The right message, at the right time (Marketing) coupled with effective branding will gain you the trust needed to make the sale.
Branding drives revenue because when you show up intentionally with empathy and value-added, consistently, your prospects get to know you, the problems you solve, and eventually trust you to solve them. So, the equation is simple: consistency becomes recognition and recognition becomes trust.
Consistency
Consistency is the main reason for starting a branding project. Across every vendor that provides this service, the first thing that happens is a review to see how consistent your visuals and messaging are. If we put everything you’ve ever told and shown your audience on the wall, does “who you say you are” show up consistently in every conversation? The evaluation continues from there, but it will always start with “have you been consistent?”
For organizations with brand consistency issues, the estimated average revenue increase attributed to always presenting the brand consistently is 23% (Forbes). Defining the most impactful conversation (empathetic with value-added) for your audience and being consistent in how that conversation shows up for them can transform your business by giving your customers and your employees (added bonus) something to believe in, connect with, and evangelize.
Recognition
Recognition is the product of consistency. You can show up for your audience often, but if they don’t recognize you, you have lost an opportunity to win their business. Marketing research projects that 5-7 brand impressions are necessary before someone will remember your brand (Pam Moore). That is 5-7 impressions that effectively link your brand to the problems you solve, pain you alleviate, the delight you inspire, and the story that your customers get to become the hero of.
Here is where many companies get recognition wrong: Your customers need to recognize themselves in your brand. That’s what makes it stick. They need to be the hero of your brand story. Your audience is never looking for you. They are looking for the version of themselves that is pain-free, productive, and happy. The key to effective brand recognition is to align your brand with that version of your customer, the person that they want to be. You want to be recognized as the guide or tool to help them become that person.
Trust
The hard-earned trophy of the business world is undoubtedly trust. Trust is defined as “firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something.” Synonyms include confidence and faith. We said branding “gives your customers something to believe in,” so branding is intentionally shaping what your audience should believe and say about your brand. That could never be achieved with a logo and a color palette. Can you imagine how powerful it is to give your customers a name or a specific way to describe the success you have created for them? Consistency in messaging as directed by branding will build a trusted, and therefore long-lasting, brand.
We’ll leave you with this. 95% of purchasing decisions are subconscious, showing that purchasing is more of an emotional decision than a practical one (Edelman, 2019). Being a trusted brand means you occupy subconscious space in association with a specific set of beliefs. Why not intentionally shape the belief system that could unlock 23% in revenue growth?
Interested in building a brand that lasts for your company?
Book a free consultation with our Creative Director, Nakevia Miller, below: https://gladiator.consulting/nakevia-consultation/
