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Why Bother Building A Brand For Your Internet Marketing Business
In a meeting recently, a graphic designer and I sat down at a table where everyone was exchanging business cards. I checked out his logo, and he read the name on my business card.
"I know that logo. We've been in touch in the past," I said.
"That's right. I know your name," he said.
Though we weren't able to determine when or why we'd exchanged mail previously, we guessed it had been at least five years back. Neither of us has an extraordinary memory. Rather, he had created unique visual identity for his design services, and I had devoted effort to relating my name with creative marketing.
For around five years his look and my reputation had lurked in the other's memory banks, whilst thousands or hundreds of thousands of other business identities had come and gone without making a significant trace. Why? Memorability. It demonstrates a key element of effective branding.
What is Branding?
Branding is the technique of making unique and durable perceptions in the minds of people. A brand is a persistent, unique business identity intertwined with associations of personality, quality, origin, preference and more.
Though many people relate brands with big companies, the smallest of companies may use branding techniques with excellent benefits. When a home-based craftspersons ties a beautifully designed tag on all her products telling the story of who she is and where her handy work originate from, she's branding her work. When the local market bundles groceries in bags bearing its company logo in place of simple "Thank you!" or simple totes, it's branding. When your logo is exhibited with any of your internet marketing opportunities, it's branding.
Although we associate brands with national names such as Crest, Huggies or Healthy Choice, branding doesn't necessarily need the monetary resources of Procter & Gamble. Branding doesn't even need a product or a tangible shipping mechanism. Branding comes with repetition which is easily done with any internet marketing operation.
Techniques of branding include association of a company with logos, distinctive shades, slogans, musical sounds or songs, unusual qualities, mascots, presentation, an interesting name, behavioral hallmarks and much more, readily executed for the home based business also.
Why Branding Pays Off
Time, money and energy used on branding pays back many times over when the process plays out intelligently. Here's why:
1. Memorability. It's much easier to remember the branded company compared to the "what's its name?" one.
2. Customer loyalty. When individuals have a good experience with a memorable manufacturer, they're more likely to buy that product again than competing brands.
3. Familiarity. Psychologists have shown that familiarity induces preference, and this makes even non-customers more likely to suggest a brand name they are familiar with.
4. Top quality graphic, premium price. Branding can lift what you sell out of the realm of a commodity, with shoppers willing to spend more for the well-branded products.
5. Extensions. With a well-established company, you can spread the respect you've earned to a related new product, service or branch more easily.
6. Greater company value. Creating your company into a brand name usually means that you can get a higher price for the company when you decide to sell it.
7. Lower marketing expenses. Although you must put in money to create a brand, once it's created you get a bigger bang for every marketing buck using it.
8. For buyers, less risk. People often opt for the brand-name supplier over the no-name one when afraid of the consequences of a mess up.
For all those reasons and more, branding fattens your net profit.
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