What is Branding?

Branding is a marketing exercise in which a company creates a name, logo or design unique to the company.

A brand is the image people have in mind when they think of a certain product, service or company. You can be selling the same product as others but how you position it, is what differentiates you from others.

A powerful brand signifies how well a customer relates, recognizes and trusts the brand.

“Your brand is one of the most beneficial investments you can make in your business.”

The difference between brand awareness and brand identity

The two terms “brand awareness” and “brand identity”, though different are often used interchangeably.

Brand identity is creating an image of your brand. It is the collection of various branding activities such as creating a tagline, color schemes, logos, and a brand name. Brand identity is how a brand differentiates itself from others.

When creating an eCommerce brand, it is important that you choose an eCommerce platform that allows you to change the look and feel of your store.

VARStreet’s ecommerce platform comes with completely customizable templates and prebuilt widgets to help you design your store. You can add your logo and brand colors to your store.

Whereas, brand awareness is enhancing your brand’s recognition and recall value among your potential customers. Establishing brand awareness is invaluable when marketing and promoting your company and products, especially in the early stages of an eCommerce business.

Brand awareness associates actions and products with particular brands, for example, ‘Googling it’, getting a ‘Xerox’ instead of a photocopy or asking for a ‘Kleenex’ when you want a tissue.

How to create a powerful brand

• Define who you are

Defining your brand is important before you market it. Define the physical appearance of your product, how it benefits customers, know your mission, understand the core values of your business, set your target market, create a tagline, define your personality, distinguishing points of your brand, determine your weakness and why customers should choose you over others.

Without strong brand identity, your customers will not recognize your brand.

• Define your target audience

The foundation for building an effective brand is to determine your target audience.

Find out the behaviors and lifestyles of your consumers. Know their needs and desires, and then create a brand identity that suits their needs.

Keep these points in mind when defining your target audience:

•    Age
•    Gender
•    Location
•    Income

Read our article How to Understand your Target E-commerce Market for more on the topic.

• Define your style

Create your brand story, logo, a perfect color palette, typography, know your brand voice, your values and mission.

Define your brand style to avoid inconsistent content, which might result in mixed marketing messages that may create confusion in your customer’s mind.

“Find your distinctive voice define your brand flaunt your style”

• Position yourself uniquely

How is your brand position unique? Is there something that only you’re known for, and none of your competitors?

Position your brand uniquely, do not imitate other brands.

Your product’s packaging or the way of presenting your services also contribute to making your brand unique. Make your brand relevant, credible, and inspire customer loyalty.

“Positioning is not about making your product unique but creating a unique image of your brand in the minds of potential customers.”

• Name, Logo, and URL strengthen brand identity

You do not want a brand name that is already taken or an Insta handle that is not consistent with your brand name. Your brand should be easy to find on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and all other social media channels you have a presence on.

Your domain name is your identity online. Choose an url that is consistent with your brand name. Again, your ecommerce platform should offer this feature.

• Build customer loyalty

“Increasing customer’s lifetime value is the most reliable way to achieve effective branding”

No one likes to be ignored, the moment customers feel that you aren’t listening to their complaints they will lose trust in your brand. Build a community where your customers’ voices are heard.

• Add value with quality content

Consumers today are bombarded with new content every second. If you want your brand to stand out, you have to create content that adds value to their screen time. Content quality is important as poor-quality content may affect your brand and its reputation adversely.

• Have an “Our Story” Page

It is important to tell the story of your brand. Your “Our Story” page should let readers know what you stand for, the history of your brand, your journey, etc. Having an “Our Story” page helps you build stronger relationships with your customers.

• Include testimonials

Customers care more about what others say about your product than what you have to say.

Customer testimonials are an impartial review of your product. Ask your customers for testimonials to post on your website. Loyal customers are more likely to become promoters of your brand.

Why include testimonials:

• Increases conversion rates.
• Builds trust by acting as a third-party endorsement.
• Unbiased reviews of the brand.
• An important form of social evidence.

• Be Consistent

Branding is a continuous process. Consumers trust brands that they recognize. Maintain consistency in your tone, style, the colors you use and in all communication you have with your customers, including your social media and website content.

Create brand guidelines to define the type of content you want to put out, the tone and style of your brand, the colors and fonts you use, etc.

Conclusion

You “build” a brand not “make” a brand. An effective brand strategy takes time, patience, and lots of work to execute.

You will successfully create a powerful brand if you follow the guidelines above.

Learn More About eCommerce:

• Easy Tips to Build an Online eCommerce Store with VARStreet
• 4 Ways to Improve Your E-commerce Conversion Rates

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