What Branding Really Means for Business Owners?

Shalom Solomon 6th March, 2021

There are many people in the business world who are content with making just enough to provide basic needs for themselves and maybe loved ones. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with this way of life, there are others who want to stand out. They want to be seen, heard and remembered.

Almost every entrepreneur falls within this category. They hope to make it big and become a name in their niche, the next Dangote of the manufacturing sector or Steve Jobs or Elon Musk of the Tech world.

Very great dreams I must say.

But, at the risk of sounding like the clichÃ© motivational speaker, the only thing preventing your business dreams coming into reality is simply implementation.

Wanting to become a name in your niche as an entrepreneur is a very admirable aspiration but, it will continue to be an aspiration if you do not put in the work needed to grow your business.

We all know that the business world is well populated even more so with trends like e-commerce websites and digital marketing. The competition for target audience's attention is stronger.

So, how do you stand out as a business owner? How do you make your business renown?

The answer is embedded in one word, branding.

What is branding?

Contrary to popular belief, branding is not creating a business name and logo, it is far more than that. The business name and logo are only a part of the branding process.

Branding simply has to do with putting an image of your business in the minds of people.

The image your business potrays is not restricted by the logo and business name, the reputation of your business and the message your business passes, are also components of your brand.

The brand name and logo majorly serve as reminders to your customers of what your business stands for.

When you see the Apple logo on any product, what comes to your mind?

The product would be expensive, but also have good quality, it will be sleek and have dope features.

Now for someone who has never heard about Apple products, the logo would carry no meaning at all.

See what I mean? All that from just an image.

Your brand is the idea you put in the minds of people about your business.

It can be positive or negative either way, your logo and brand name are the symbols that represent your brand. They enable customers identify and differentiate your products from others.

A survey was carried out by a baked beans company, they blindfolded the subjects and observed their reactions when they tasted their baked beans and Heinz' baked beans. Most of them preferred the company's product when they were blindfolded but they chose Heinz baked beans when they were asked the same question with their eyes open.

That is the power of Branding.

Conclusion

Till today a lot of people and shockingly Marketers will tell you that a business brand is its name and logo. This is quite incorrect.

Business owners fall for this everytime and dedicate a lot of their effort and precious capital into designing a great logo and brand name. It's not actually useless but, it won't make any significant difference.

If you have very poor customer service and products for instance and you go ahead to slap a great logo and brand name on it, it will definitely be counter productive.

Where you should focus your energy on as an entrepreneur building a brand is your reputation, the quality of your product. Build your reputation; let consumers know your product offers the best features in an aspect, let them think of your brand when they need a particular service.

This, my friends is Branding.

Adios...

So how do you go about the branding process?

This would be on the next post...