There’s more to a strong brand than a logo.
“Your brand is your company’s most valuable assets”. You hear it so often it almost feels cliche—because it’s true. However, a strong brand does more than just define your place in the market – there are some surprising benefits to having a strong brand and a clearly defined brand.
When we start working on a branding intensive with a client, we ask what their goals are for the intensive. Answers range from things like “we need a plan, because we’re all over the place” to “we want to increase customer retention” to “this is part of a broader plan to reach $xxx in revenue by the end of 2018”.
Clients’ goals are often customer-facing—targeting the right audience, making you stand out in your market, creating loyalty and buzz, increasing revenue. But having a strong brand has other, equally important benefits that, when done right, further increase your brand’s value.
GREAT EMPLOYEE ATTRACTION AND RETENTION
Having a brand that’s clear, credible, and loyalty-inspiring is just as important to your past, present, and future employees as it is to your customers. Think about it: If your brand can’t clearly articulate a vision, your employees will struggle in conversations about what it is they do and what the company does. On the other hand, a strong brand is not only easy for them to talk about—it’s easy for prospective employees to know if your company is a good long-term match for their talents and values, saving you time and effort in the long run. The other caveat? Your company’s brand needs to be more than just a veneer – with sites like Glassdoor giving employees a platform, if your company’s environment doesn’t match their stated values and goals, it becomes a matter of public record much more quickly than it might have even a couple of years ago.
INSPIRES BRAND CONFIDENCE
This may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s worth detailing exactly how this benefits your small business or startup. If you’re a newer, smaller business, you may have to contend with biases toward older, more established businesses. It could be the difference between a client going with your business, or going with an older, more established company. The bottom line? Strong branding helps convey that your business is established, that it takes itself seriously, inspires confidence in your skills or products—all of which helps funnel business your way, when those things might have led them in the other direction.
CUSTOMER TRUST IN THE EVENT OF CONTROVERSY
We hope to avoid controversy or negative attention as much as possible, but when it does happen, a recognized, likeable brand with a loyal following will fare far better than a brand that comes off as uneven, maybe has a troubled workplace, or comes off as unkind or unlikeable. A strong brand helps create an impression of your company that people want to side with and defend. For instance, back in April 2017, Adidas tweeted “Congrats, you survived the Boston Marathon!”, inadvertently reminding people of the 2013 bombing. They received backlash for this and quickly issued an apology. This incident sank into the background for them, but other brands that dealt with controversy in 2017 haven’t bounced back so easily. Uber has been dealing with one controversy after another. Both Kendall Jenner and Pepsi are still dealing with the fallout from that controversial ad.
If you feel a pang of worry reading through this article, it’s worth taking action now to keep your brand’s value intact later. A great place to start this process is with our 7-POINT BRAND AUDIT – find out what’s helping and what could be holding you back.
