 How Do You Get Branding? (i) Memorable Brand Name and Logo The vast majority of brand names are short and memorable names, which are easy to remember. They can often be shortened versions of the full company name, or something completely new aimed at selling a particular product or service.
(ii) Image of Size
A strong brand will project an image of a large and established business to your potential customers. People usually associate branding with larger businesses that have the money to spend on advertising and promotion. If you can create effective branding, then it can make your business appear to be much bigger than it really is.
For Example:
The Coca Cola Company uses the brand name Coca Cola.
The electronics brand JVC is the brand name for the Victor Company of Japan Limited.
BBC is the brand name for the British Broadcasting Corporation.
Creating a distinctive logo also helps to make your brand more memorable, a symbol or image is usually much more noticeable than text.
People are much less likely to remember the words “Alan Smith’s Groceries and Fruit Stall” than they are a smart logo for “Smith’s Groceries”. By creating and developing a brand, potential customers will be much more likely to remember you, no matter how small your business.
The cost of paying an external company to design a logo varies from a hundred to many thousands of pounds (depending on the company you use); but the cost of a brand name is free unless you wish to pay for research into names (as many large companies do)!
(ii) Professional Looking Image
The overall image of your business is a crucial part of creating strong branding. As branding creates the impression of a larger business, your image should reflect that of an established company.
All business stationary (Such as business cards or letterheads) needs to carry your businesses brand name or logo. There is no point creating a brand if you do not use it, although this does not mean you need to make it excessively large, sometimes subtlety works just as well (especially in more serious businesses).
Creating a brand is not just about the name and logo; can someone look at your products/brochure/store and know that it is for your business without seeing a name?
(iii) Exposure
Even the best designed branding will be of no benefit if people (potential customers!) are not exposed to it. There are four main ways in which people become exposed to and remember a brand:
Advertising
Advertising in magazines, newspapers, trade journals, or even on the radio or television will expose your brand to a large number of people in a short space of time.
There is no better way of exposing your brand, but substantial advertising is very expensive, particularly in the long term. Advertising planning should always take into account the type of business you are in, and who you are aiming to sell or expose your brand to.
PR
Public Relations exposure can inform a wide range of people about your brand through trustworthy sources such as newspapers. A news story that references your brand (E.g.: A toy company provides a branded survey showing that Toy X is expected to be the biggest seller this year.) is given to the media outlets, which then decide whether or not to run the story.
PR is not as expensive as advertising, but results can vary considerably depending on the type of business you run, the availability of stories, and even what is going on in the news that week.
If you choose an external company, you must always be sure of their ability and experience, otherwise you are effectively throwing money away. If you choose to carry out PR internally, it costs next to nothing, but the results will often be poor without some training and knowledge.
Word Of Mouth
Highly satisfied customers will generally tell other people about your business, this can be used to help spread your brand. Be careful however, as unsatisfied customers will usually tell more people about their experiences than satisfied customers will.
Word of mouth exposure is free, and helps to lodge your brand name and image in your potential customers minds.
Advertising and promotions can also encourage word of mouth; many businesses run competitions or ‘teaser’ advertising that often makes people talk about the advert (and therefore your brand).
Discounts given when an existing customer introduces a friend are another common way of increasing word of mouth exposure.
Period of Establishment
The only real form of exposure that you can have no control over is time. Even the best branding will not be remembered by everyone the first time they see it. Over months and years, a brand becomes more effective and will be more easily recalled.
Just because your branding might appear unsuccessful after two months, does not mean that it is not working at all. Most of the world’s best-known brands have been established for over 50 years!
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