Branding is a strategic process of creating the identity of your business that makes it stand out from others. It includes identifying and developing all of the elements that make up your company’s personality (like logo, name, design, voice) that allow customers to distinguish you from competitors. It also involves creating a clear promise of value to your customers and defining how your company will be perceived in the market.
The practice of branding goes as far back as 2,700 BCE, when people marked cattle with a distinctive symbol burned into their skin using a hot branding iron. This allowed people to identify the owner of a particular animal and prevented theft of livestock. Today, brands are used to identify a wide variety of products and services, from restaurants to automobiles to cleaning products. Some of the most well-known examples include Pepsi, Campbell’s soup, Coca-Cola, Aunt Jemima pancake mix and Juicy Fruit chewing gum.
A well-defined brand can differentiate your products or services from those of a competitor, helping you attract more customers and clients. It can also increase the amount that consumers are willing to pay for your product or service. In fact, a 2021 Razorfish study found that 82% of surveyed consumers will buy from a brand that shares their values.
Aside from the obvious consumer benefits of a well-defined brand, it can also help your employees feel pride in their work and be more invested in the success of the company. Several studies show that brands with high employee satisfaction have lower turnover rates than those with low employee satisfaction.