Why Your Business’ Branding is so Important.

               What is the first thing you think of when you hear the word, “brand?” Maybe a certain brand came to mind, one of your favorites, like Nike or Panera Bread. What about when you hear the word, “branding?” You probably think of things like, a logo, or company colors, maybe even a tagline or slogan. These are all part of branding and make a brand who they are. A result of good branding is that your company will stand out in people’s minds. After all, the brands you just thought of stood out in your mind, didn’t they? Now you can probably start to see how important branding is for your company. The right branding that will help you stand out and stay in people’s minds long after they leave.

Branding Sets You Apart

Things like your logo, company colors, and tagline are essential to your business. They are the “face” of your business. These are the things people first see when it comes to your company. They are also the things that people may initially think of when they think of who you are. And while your branding is so much more than these things, your logo may be the most important part of your branding.

Your Logo Says Who You Are

A logo is probably the most important part of your company’s branding as it literally says who you are. A good logo should be a simple embodiment of your company. It should also be easily recognizable. Your logo should be simple enough that the person who views it for the first time can quickly tell what your company is. For an example, if you see a logo that has an ice cream cone included you can immediately gather that the company sells ice cream. Now of course that is not always the case. Nike, for example, doesn’t follow this rule, however, it is still a simple, recognizable logo. Even if a logo is very simple, like Nike’s, it should still embody your business and who you are.

Company Colors Create Unity and Recognition

 While company colors may not seem important, that is far from the truth. The colors that your company chooses are very important and should be used in conjunction with your logo to set your business apart. When you think of the colors: red and yellow, you probably think of a certain fast-food restaurant, McDonalds. Their brand’s colors play a huge part in their brand recognition. Another important thing to think about in today’s world is your social media pages and how much better a social media feed looks when the company has branded colors. The feed looks more unified and visually pleasing.

A Tagline is Your Business’ Mission Summed Up

                “The Quicker Picker Upper,” “M’m M’m! Good!” “Betcha Can’t Eat Just One” are all examples of a slogan or tagline. You probably knew what company each of the slogans was for. That’s because of how well their branding and marking departments have done with advertising. This brand recognition is different from a logo or company colors. That’s because even with your eyes closed, upon hearing these taglines you would be able to identify the company. A good tagline sums up your business’ mission statement and is a quick glimpse into what your business stands for.

Maybe a less recognizable one, depending on where you live, is Ollie’s “Good Stuff Cheap!” If you are not familiar with the store, even by reading the tagline you can gather that it is a place that sells good items at a cheap price. Even if you cannot picture their logo or company colors, their tagline still tells you a brief summary of what the company is, and what their mission is.

Your Branding goes Behind the Scenes

                Like I mentioned before, your branding goes way beyond the logo, brand colors, and tagline. Those are just the things at the face of your company, the things that the customer automatically recognizes. However, your branding is also the things that represent your business that happen behind the scenes. Your company’s culture, and values are things that incorporate a company’s brand that start internally but can be recognized by customers and clients. Company culture is the backbone of a successful business.

Adobe is a good example of a company that has a strong company culture and is easily recognizable. Adobe is one of the leading software development companies around the world, used by creatives and run by creatives. Creativity and freedom of expression are at the heart of the company, and pours into the company culture, message, and values. At the core Adobe is branded for creative people. Most graphic designers, illustrators, photographers, and videographers use Adobe, and that is because they know Adobe is a reliable company that values the same things they do.

Values are Valuable

                Your companies’ values and overall mission statement is another huge part of your companies behind-the-scenes branding. One company who’s brand is known for its values and mission is the shoe company, Toms. Toms is a company with charity and giving back at the heart of it. The company gained recognition for their one-for-one campaign, where for every pair of shoes purchased from them, they donated a pair to someone in need. While Tom’s has gravitated away from the one-for-one in 2021, giving back is still what makes them who they are, with 1/3 of their profits going to grassroots social impact campaigns. Their strong values are a huge part of their branding and show how important strong values are to making a company successful.

Branding Basics

                In summary, branding can entail your logo, company colors, tagline and slogan, as well as the behind the scenes of your business, such as company culture, and values. All these pieces working in conjunction will create a brand that is not just recognizable but memorable as well. Weather behind the scenes or in plain sight, branding makes your company what it is and shows who you are as a business. It can make the difference between a company that is easily forgotten and one that will remain in the customer or client’s head forever.