How branding plays an important role in the growth of a business: Himani Ahuja, Founder & CEO, One Digital and Designworx Asia
A ‘Brand’ is the accumulation of your clientele’s approach, your concepts, and experience. It is the face, personality, and set of values adopted by your very firm and everything in between. The act of creating your company’s name, symbol, or design that is easily identifiable, is referred to as branding. It aids in identifying a product or service & plays the role of a distinguishing factor amidst others in the market. It is essential in not only making an everlasting impression on consumers but it allows clients to know what to expect from the company. In addition to that, it's a sure-shot way of differentiating yourself from the competitors & clarifying what exactly you offer that makes you a better choice. The brand identity you create is a true representation of who you are as a business & how you wish to be perceived. There are contradictory ideas about the relevance of branding, especially amongst SMEs looking to find their feet in a tremendously aggressive environment. For the most part, small businesses remain blinded by assumptions that brands exclusively signify the ‘bigger’ fish in the pond who have unlimited access to massive budgets & worldwide recognition. In hindsight, it's rather ironic considering that it is small businesses that need to leverage branding more than their well-established counterparts. Going by the statistics, research suggests that approximately 50% of clients suggest that they consider becoming more loyal to a brand during the first time of availing services itself. Hence it is established that branding gives your potential buyers a clear sense of purpose, a well-defined road map & a trustworthy voice that people want to listen to.
Branding goes past monotonous undertakings & transactions. The beauty of a brand is that it isn’t restricted to what emerges before a service is availed. It depends on the kind of experience it delivers at various touchpoints in their journey once they associate with you. It’s necessary to consider value propositions, identifying the competition, mission & personality of your firm. Entrepreneurs should be aware of all the know-how of their business in order to create a brand out of their firm. Along with designing structures, they need to cover all areas that consolidate a firm, for instance, human resources, business development, and so on. First & foremost create a persona to understand your audience. It is a semi-fictionalized portrayal of the values & characteristics of your customer. Then the next step should be developing an identity & voice for your brand where instead of answering questions about your target audience, you’re answering questions that are more introspective to your brand. The third & most important step is to map out a consistent social media presence. Especially in the present age, it is imperative to reach people where they're already present, and that includes the unfathomable world wide web. In addition to this, a content strategy should come handy in building your online presence. Start a blog on your website & update it with the latest developments at regular intervals. What matters, when you’re brainstorming ways to effectively build your brand, is how you use the resources you have to the best of your ability.
As the founder of an architectural PR & Communications firm ‘One Digital’ and as a Communications Specialist, I feel that whether you’re developing your first brand or creating a brand strategy for a client or your own business at large, it’s vital to understand what a brand is & what it takes to create one. Your brand identity is perhaps your firm’s most valuable asset. Hence, developing a stronger brand should be at the top of your priority list. The ultimate aim of any business is to gather many customers and make a name of its own. A business becomes a brand when both customers and rivals start taking it seriously. This is what branding does, without which the business remains unrecognizable from its competition. The Editor in Chief of BW Businessworld & exchange4media Dr. Annurag Batra, in our conversation, makes a strong argument on the topic in question. ‘It is a way of distinguishing oneself from their competition and asserting that what you offer, makes you the better choice. A brand is a true representation of how the business wants to be perceived. This is what makes branding absolutely critical in marketing. With this capacity and ability to change the perception, it can get in a lot of new business’. Dr. Annurag urges budding entrepreneurs to understand the purpose of their brand, what is the identity & its customer base. Branding is important not only to make a memorable impression on the customers but it also allows the customers to know what to expect from the company. Aesthetics are also important, good product design does not only differentiate one company from another, but it also enhances the experience of the user.
A strong, well-transformed brand will aid in expanding your firm much easier. The overall business strategy of your firm should embody the core of what your practice stands for and its values, so that serves as a starting point. In addition to that, it’s necessary to consider value propositions, identifying the competition, mission & personality of your firm.
