Business Branding Strategies: Business branding is no longer a luxury for big corporations. In today’s fast-paced, highly competitive world, it has become a necessity for all businesses. A process that hinges on the ever-shifting consumer preferences, branding is not just a challenging exercise, but also resource-draining at times. This article provides guidance on business branding while also critically analysing our innate desire to ‘mark’ or ‘brand’ possessions.
Business Branding Strategies Highlights
- Branding, as a practice, dates far back to the Stone Age, where evidence can be found in cave paintings depicting men ‘marking’ their cattle with paint or tar.
- The total brand advertising spend in the B2B segment in 2022 was USD 32 billion. It is expected to touch USD 37.7 billion by the end of 2024. (Source: Statista)
- Businesses are still recovering from the after-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the pandemic’s reeling effect on business revenues, the need to stay relevant to customers is increasing by the day. This is where branding has a role to play.
- Social media marketing is considered as a non-negotiable aspect by 75% of smaller businesses. (Source: Tech Report)
- The constantly-evolving consumer behaviour poses an immense challenge to brands, many times leading to rebranding in order to stay relevant in the eyes of consumers.
- What is the true reason behind our tendency to ‘brand’ or ‘mark’ possessions? Uncover the reason in this feature.
What Is ‘Brand’ and ‘Branding’?
The practice of branding predates the very word ‘brand’. The etymology of the word ‘brand’ traces its roots to the period of Old Norse, the ancient North Germanic language. Brand literally meant ‘a piece of burning wood’. Farmers used these burning embers to mark their cattle, distinguishing their livestock from others.
As industries grew and economies shifted, so did the meaning and dynamics of these two intertwined words. Today, the word brand stands for the collective perception of your business by customers, the media, your employees and your business supporters. It is no longer what you claim your business to be. It is how everyone, other than you, defines it.
Business Branding Strategies: Whereas branding refers to the ongoing, intricate process of shaping this perception. It involves crafting and managing the identity of a business, ensuring it resonates with your audience. In today’s constantly evolving marketplace, branding is not a one-time effort. It is a dynamic and continuous process of building recognition, trust and lasting impact.
A Brief History of Business Branding
- One of the most fascinating and overlooked forms of ancient branding emerged from the Indus Valley Civilisation. Despite its historical significance, the branding practices of this advanced cultural region have received far less attention than they deserve.
- Archaeologists have excavated countless seals from Indus Valley sites, featuring mysterious, undeciphered scripts and intricate animal motifs. For years, British archaeologists dismissed these as mere religious or cultural symbols.
- However, the discovery of similar Indus Valley seals at Mesopotamian excavation sites prompted historians to study them deeper. They concluded that these seals were not just artistic expressions, but functional tools used by Indus Valley traders. They marked their goods before exporting them to distant lands like Mesopotamia and Central Asia. These seals were the earliest known form of branding.
Image Title: Stamp seal and modern impression: unicorn and incense burner (?)
Image Credit: Dodge Fund, 1949
Image Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Indologist Stanley Wolpert (University of California, Los Angeles) noted that the intricate seals bearing images of tigers, elephants and other Indian animals were ‘probably made for the merchants who used them to brand their wares’. This was accompanied by a written script that is yet-undeciphered. (Wolpert 2000)
- The practice of branding cattles was also found in Ancient Egypt, approximately 4000 BC. They used a hot iron mould stamped with recognisable symbols, instead of paints. The evidence of this cruel practice was found in the engravings in Egyptian funeral monuments.
Image Title: “Ancient Egypt [Branding the cattle]” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1850 – 1959.
Image Source: George Arents Collection, The New York Public Library. (digitalcollections)
- American farmers even devised distinct symbols as ‘word brands’ or logos to identify their cattle, continuing this brutal practice.
Image Title: Cattle brand logos from the book ‘1883 Wyoming Cattle Brands Book’
Image Source: Heritage Auctions
- As the industrial revolution progressed, businesses increasingly felt the need to stand out in front of their customers. People were still accustomed to buying from their trusted local vendors. Branding logos helped businesses break into this market, thereby, giving birth to some major brands, especially in America.
- The competition in branding reached such a point where protection was needed to safeguard the brand logos and designs created by businesses. This led to the establishment of the various trade mark registration acts across countries, 19th century onward.
Business Branding Strategies: Importance of Business Branding
In today’s constantly रे business world, branding serves multiple purposes, namely:
- The most widely known aspect of branding is creating a visual appeal of the brand. This includes logo, colour strategy, brand motto, core philosophy in visual campaigns, etc.
- Branding helps build a brand’s unique identity among clients, thereby facilitating a better brand recall.
- The right branding can steer the perception of clients from an old strategy to news, driving in new business and increase in brand value.
- It helps building trust not only in clients but also in the marketplace. In the long term, it creates a pool of loyal customers by educating them about the core principles and ethics of the brand.
- It can attract a wider investor audience by making the brand more appealing in all aspects of its business dynamics.
- In today’s hyper-evolving market, branding can help catch customer’s attention even if a vast array of similar products or services already exist.
- All of the above benefits can be summed up in the four pillars or 4 V’s of branding – Vision, Voice, Values and Visuals.
Difference Between Branding, Marketing and Advertising
Business Branding Strategies: The three often-confused terms are branding, marketing and advertising. Let’s understand their differences in a nutshell.
Branding:
It is the complete process of establishing a brand’s unique identity in a market, maintaining customers loyalty at the same time.
Also Read: Mastering Sales Strategies: 15 Effective Sales Techniques You Need to Know
Focus: To create a unique identity for a brand. It primarily caters to the brand’s beliefs and what it wants to put forward to the world.
Marketing:
It is the exhaustive process of promoting products or services to the target group of customers. It also involves engaging clients in the long run, understanding their needs through detailed research and creating strategies to bridge the gaps.
Focus: Core focus is clients and their needs.
Advertising:
Business Branding Strategies: It is a tactical tool that is used to convey a brand’s message to its target audience in the most effective manner. It is a subset of marketing and its main purpose is to reach a wider audience and encourage sales. Advertising can be done through paid or unpaid channels.
Focus: To boost sales and business reputation by making the client realise that their needs can be met through services or products offered by the brand.
Effective Strategies for Business Branding
There are several approaches to branding strategies depending on the industry, functions, size of business, period of implementation, and such factors. We bring you the most common ways to move ahead with branding:
Know the Target Audience
Business Branding Strategies: Every element of a brand, from its colours and logo to the messaging and customer experience, should resonate with the target audience.
- A thorough understanding of the target group is essential to crack this code. This includes understanding their needs, desires, pain points and what they value.
- A great way to start is by creating detailed profiles of your ideal customers. Demographics play an important role in profiling of clients.
- Additionally, noting behavioural patterns, psychographic details, buying history, etc. help build more meaningful client profiles.
- Branding strategies must also adapt to the complexities of geopolitical situations. Global markets are deeply influenced by political climates, international relations and regional stability. For example, the image given below dates back to 1947, the year India became an independent nation.
- Patriotism was at its highest and with the Swadeshi movement, Indians preferred purchasing 100% Swadeshi goods. The tea advertisement effectively leverages patriotic messaging not just through text, but also with the help of symbols like the charkha and a saree-clad woman sipping on tea.
Image: A 1947 print advertisement by The Indian Tea Market Expansion Board.
Knowing your audience will help you craft messaging that speaks to them on a personal level, making your brand more relatable and trustworthy.
Business Branding Strategies: Define the Purpose and Values
It is very important for today’s buyer to know what a brand stands for.
- Beyond just selling a product or service, a brand should have a clear purpose that reflects why its business exists and the value it brings to the world.
- For example, is the mission to make eco-friendly products more accessible? Or maybe to inspire creativity through your innovative solutions?
- Defining your purpose and values provides a strong foundation for your brand. Customers today are increasingly driven by values and want to support companies that reflect their own principles.
- The following statistics shows that 13% of the survey group is willing to pay 31-50% more for a product or service belonging to a brand that makes a positive impact to the world.
Image Credit: Customer Thermometer
Communicating a brand’s mission and aligning its actions with those beliefs clearly attracts loyal customers who identify with the brand on a deeper level.
Consistency is Critical
- One of the most important branding tips is to be consistent across all channels. Whether it is the website, social media profiles, email newsletters, advertisements, customer service interactions should all convey a unified voice and message.
- About 85% of consumers rely on social media to know more about a brand. (Source: Tintupt)
- Inconsistency dilutes a brand, making it harder for customers to recognise and trust it.
- Consistency is not just about the visuals, it is also about how a brand’s message and promises translate into real actions.
- Creating a style guide of a brand’s colour palette, typography, logo usage and tone of voice, help maintain a record of their iterations too.
- This ensures that no matter who is creating content or communicating on behalf of the company, they are aligned with the brand identity.
Creating a Unique Brand Voice
A brand’s voice is its personality. It creates a calculated pull for the customers, which helps brands convey their messaging more effectively.
- It is important to analyse what the ideal tone of a brand’s voice should be. For example, playful, energetic, serious, authoritative, approachable, casual, professional, sophisticated, etc.
- The tone of voice should reflect both the brand’s values and the personality of the target audience. For example, if your brand sells luxury products, an elegant and refined voice might resonate better than a playful or humorous one. On the other hand, a quirky tone might work perfectly for a brand targeting a younger, more creative audience.
- A unique brand voice can make it stand out in today’s crowded market and create an emotional connection with customers.
- This voice should come through clearly in all the communication, whether it’s a social media post, an email or simply a customer service chat.
Investing in a Memorable Visual Identity
Humans are visual creatures and first impressions matter a lot.
- The logo, colours, typography and imagery are the face of a brand. They need to be as impacting and attractive as possible.
- The logos and visual identity of the most popular brands are instantly recognisable.
- In an interesting survey, it was found that 40% among Fortune 500 companies use blue colour for their logos.(Source: Website Planet)
Image Credit: Website Planet
- This points towards the importance of colour in building a visual appeal.
- The brand visuals must align with the brand values and the target audience.
- For example, a tech company could opt for sleek and modern designs, whereas an artisanal food brand might go for a more rustic and hand-crafted feel.
- The visual identity should be easily adaptable across all platforms and mediums, from website to packaging.
- Simple, clean and adaptable designs often work best because they can be scaled for different formats without losing the overall impact.
Business Branding Strategies: Emphasis on Brand Storytelling
People don’t buy just products. They buy stories, emotions and experiences.
- A compelling brand story can evoke emotions in customers and create a stronger connection with them. It is about how well a brand fits into their customer’s lives.
- This could also mean narrating the story of how the company was founded, its struggles, the passion that drives it, etc.
- Sharing behind-the-scenes glimpses into the processes or highlighting customer success stories are also examples of storytelling.
- Storytelling breathes life into a brand, making it more relatable and real.
Incorporating storytelling into branding also reinforces the values and mission of a brand.
Delivering Exceptional Customer Experience
Nothing influences customers more than their experience with a company.
- From the moment they land on the website or walk into a store, to the after-sales support they receive, every interaction should reflect the brand’s values and promise.
- Excellent customer service is a powerful branding tool.
- Happy customers become loyal advocates who promote the brand through word-of-mouth and positive reviews.
- On the other hand, a single bad experience can tarnish your brand’s reputation. In this social media dominant era, even negative reviews spread quickly.
- Resolution of disputes should be an important aspect of customer service.
Investing in customer support systems and ensuring clear communication are important aspects of delivering a wholesome customer experience.
Business Branding Strategies: The Dilemma of Branding
The ever-changing landscape of branding is a reflection of the ruthless world we live in.
The irony lies in the constant tug-of-war between our deep-seated need to ‘mark’ what we own and the relentless pressure to adapt to the shifting preferences of others.
This instinct to ‘brand’ or ‘mark’ our possessions far predates modern technology. Think about this – Why do we label our possessions? Because we fear losing them. And why do we fear losing them? Because the world’s resources are unevenly distributed, leaving us in constant competition for more.
Business Branding Strategies: The ever-shifting dynamics of branding reflect the transient and often superficial nature of the world we inhabit, where relevance is fleeting and approval is endlessly sought.
But what is the solution to this perpetual struggle with inequality? Can we ever find a place of lasting peace, where our worth is not measured by possessions or societal validation?
Beyond Branding: The Real Identity Crisis
The relentless focus on outward appearances has stripped us of the ability to look inward and recognise the starvation of our own soul. Jagatguru Tatvdarshi Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj highlights that the inner emptiness fuels the exaggerated external displays, not just in brands but in people as well.
Business Branding Strategies: It explains why, despite lucrative careers, people are drowned in sorrow. Despite owning luxury goods from prestigious brands, true happiness remains elusive. The hollow pursuit of external validation cannot fill the void left by neglecting what truly nourishes us within.
Jagatguru Tatvdarshi Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj reveals another profound truth – the relentless pursuit of superficial superiority, driven largely by irresponsible media, blinds us to the real purpose of life. Human existence is not merely about amassing material wealth. It is a rare and precious opportunity to seek salvation.
Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj further exposes the root cause of our attachment to worldly possessions. Every soul is a creation of the Supreme God Kabir. Our true origin is not Earth, but Satlok – the eternal, divine realm of our Father God Kabir. In Satlok, all resources are sustained effortlessly by the power of God Kabir, making earthly desires pale in comparison to the eternal fulfillment found in our divine home.
This astounding yet undeniable truth reveals the stark reality of our existence on a rapidly deteriorating Earth. The notion of ‘survival of the fittest’ was never meant for us. As Sant Rampal Ji Maharaj explains, we once flourished in divine abundance under the grace of God Kabir, far from the struggles we now face.
Uncover the hidden truth of our existence on Earth and discover the path back to our true origin:
Business Branding Strategies FAQs
Question: What is business branding?
Answer: It is the process of creating a brand identity.
Question: What are the 4 V’s of branding?
Answer: They are Values, Visuals, Vision and Voice of a brand.
Question: What is branding in logo?
Answer: A logo can consist of a wordmark or symbol. It can also be a combination of both.