Branding is one of the most important aspects of a business when it comes to securing the goodwill and trust of your customers. But many businesses, big and small, quite often do not understand the important differences between branding and marketing.
Branding
Branding is communicating with your customers to leave a long-lasting impression on their minds and distinguish yourselves from your competitors. The components that form a brand include:
- Brand identity is the embodiment of a corporation’s reason for existence. If you take Enterprise Made Simple as an example, our public message is that running and growing your business can be made simple.
- Brand communication is being able to maintain ongoing contact throughout the customer journey. So the customer knows who you are and understands what your brand stands for no matter what point they are at in the customer journey.
- Brand awareness can be known as both two entities – brand recognition and brand recollection. Brand recognition begins a customer’s recognition of brand by getting a customer to remember the brand from pre-exposure. Brand recollection is not triggered by a cue. Instead, brand recollection requires that the consumers correctly retrieve the brand from memory. This level of brand awareness is stronger than brand recognition, as the brand must be firmly cemented in the customer’s mind.
Marketing
Marketing as defined by the Chartered Institute of Marketing as “The management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably”. Marketing is what you do to get your message to customers, while your brand is how you demonstrate your values through delivery to customers.
So now you know the difference between marketing and branding, here’s how to rock your branding.
Brand Identity
Your brand identity is how your business is seen by your customers, your brand identity should remain consistent to demonstrate your values as a business. This will help your customers make the decision to buy from you instead of your competitors.
Keep It Simple
Keep names and messages concise and consistent. Use the company name and messages in various forms of communication to ensure future recognition and hopefully brand recollection.
Consistency
Set guidelines for you to use your company name/logo/message. This will ensure your brand is used in a consistent manner. This is crucial to ensure your potential customers develop a familiarity with your brand.
Different Media
Keep a close eye on the use of your brand guidelines across different media such as print, website, social media and email marketing, however, you market your business. Size, colour, and positioning of your logo are essential and the correct use of these should be ensured at all times.
Positioning
The way you “position” yourself in the market will determine how customers think about your company in relation to your competitors. Are you high quality or more futuristic business? Whatever your chosen path, this should be reflected in your marketing copy, images, and materials.
Review
Make sure all occurrences of incorrect branding are highlighted and corrected. Make sure the correct guidelines are understood for the future.
