By reducing branding to its aesthetic component: visual identity, it was (and still is) misinterpreted. For many people, whether they are experts or not, branding is still primarily about the visual identity – name, logo, design, packaging, and so on. Even high-level marketers preach the same old vision of branding, despite the fact that the notion of branding and its understanding have developed considerably over the years.
Branding is vital to a business, since it not only creates a lasting impression on customers, but it also informs them about what to expect from your business.
It’s a technique to set yourself apart from the competition by stating exactly what you have to offer that makes you the better option. Your brand is designed to accurately reflect who you are as a company and how you want to be perceived.
Advertising, customer service, social responsibility, reputation, and graphics are just a few of the tools used to build a brand. All of these aspects (and many more) come together to form a singular and (hopefully) eye-catching profile.
Definition
Branding is the ongoing process of recognizing, producing, and managing the assets and behaviors thαt contribute to stakeholders’ perceptions of a brand.
1.Ongoing procedure
Branding is a never-ending process because it never stops. People, markets, and companies are all changing at the same time, and the brand must adapt to stay relevant.
2.Identify, produce, and manage
Branding is an organized process in which you must first determine who/what you want to be to your stakeholders, develop a brand strategy to position yourself correctly within the market, and then manage everything that effects your positioning on a continuous basis.
3. Assets and activities in the aggregate
Your positioning must be converted into assets (e.g., visual identity, information, goods, commercials) and activities (e.g., services, customer service, human relations, experiences) that gradually build up that perception in the minds of your stakeholders. You must be able to quantify in a way your positioning, and understand to what components it’s really broken down to
4. A brand’s perception
Reputation is another term for it. This is the mental association that a person (whether a customer or not) has with your brand. The branding approach has resulted in this perception (or lack thereof)
5.Involved Parties
Clients aren’t the only ones who form an impression of your company in their heads. Potential clients, present consumers, employees, shareholders, and business partners are all stakeholders. Each person forms their own impression of the brand and interacts with it accordingly.
Rebranding
What exactly is the point of rebranding?
The process of modifying an organization’s corporate image is known as rebranding. It’s a marketing approach that involves giving an existing brand a new name, symbol, or design update. The goal of rebranding is to differentiate a company’s identity from that of its competitors in the marketplace. Also rebranding allows a product or service, to reach new customers and new markets that were previously inaccessible.
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DO YOU NEED A BRAND REVAMP FOR YOUR BUSINESS?
Ask yourself three questions to see if your company needs a brand refresh:
- Why are you considering rebranding?
- What modifications are you contemplating?
- Has your firm undergone any changes that will affect your rebranding?
Not sure if you need rebranding?
Here are the signs that tell your company needs to rebrand:
Our company’s vision is no longer reflected in our brand name.
Our corporate strategy or model has shifted.
Our company has outgrown its current identity.
Our company has relocated or increased its geographic footprint.
Our brand has lost its purpose and has become too difficult to comprehend.
We wish to broaden our reach and engage with new people.
We need to separate our brand from a bad reputation.
We don’t want to hand out our business cards because we’re embarrassed.
We’re having problems increasing our profit margins and raising our prices.
