What we really want to get into this time, though, is why that is – all the reasons building a brand - rather than just a business – can be so powerful.

Back up a second. Maybe this is a silly question, but… what do you actually mean when you talk about brand building?

Not a silly question at all. We at know that branding has moved on from simply being the logo, colour scheme and tag line associated with a company or product.  These days, consumers want to see that brands actually practice what they preach, which means that ethos, leadership and personality all play starring roles in the process. It’s not enough anymore for a business just to have a pretty wrapper – folks want to know that what’s on the inside is just as good too. That trust between business and consumer is something that takes time, hence the idea of brand building, and you build a strong brand through by consistently showing your target market who you are, what you stand for and how you’re going to help them.

Basically, consumers now want to see behind the scenes – they want to see the passion and drive that you as the leader have put into the business. That’s what they’re buying; that’s what inspires them and that’s what we work from too – Design by Country uses your drive and inspiration as the company leader as the starting point, the foundation, from which to build the brand.

Right. You’ve convinced me. So how is this ‘brand building’ going to benefit my business, then?

Another excellent question. Though building a brand slowly from the inside, using your own drive and infusing your personality and ethos into all that you do takes a while, it’s a long game worth playing in the end. And we’re about to share the reasons why.

• It will help you build an engaged community of followers that resonate more powerfully with your business

Consumers’ time is precious and you have a finite amount of it to communicate your personality, mission and what you’re there to help them with before they move on. Strong branding helps you do this quickly and with feeling, whereas poor branding can have the opposite effect. Think of it like this – the branding is like the ambience in a restaurant. It doesn’t change the food (the product) but it does affect the customer’s experience of it. If a customer comes to your restaurant (business) once and has a good time thanks to the ambience (the branding), they’re likely to come back again. But their loyalty will only be solidified if you’re able to cultivate the same experience for them on a consistent basis.

And brand loyalty is what you’re going for here.

Research shows that its between 5 and 25 times cheaper to retain a customer than it is to acquire a new one. If you pour your efforts into keeping your current costumers loyal, it’ll come back to you tenfold in the future – after all, what do you trust more? A brand telling you, “I’m great!” or someone else you trust telling you, “that brand is great!” Exactly.

Far better to have a smaller group of fanatical fans that relate to you and align with your personality and mission than a large group of non engaged passive followers. And how do you do this? By putting your gut feel into decisions, showing emotion and expressing yourself. You are the brand and the brand is you. This also helps you retain staff as well. People want to know that their leader has a heart and though it might sound daunting to put yourself out there like that, it’s far more inspiring and means you won’t waste time with customers or employees who don’t get or agree with your vision.

2. It helps you stand out from your competitors

Speaking of not wasting time, building a strong brand might be polarising but that’s a good thing. If you’re unique, it’ll help you be heard above the noise of your market and though it might mean not everyone loves you, it does mean that the right people will, which once again brings us back to that key idea of building a loyal community. The likelihood of selling to an existing customer is 60-70%. The likelihood of selling to a new one is as low as 5%. Standing out helps you foster that loyalty but also gives you the best fighting chance of getting noticed by new costumers too.

3. It will help the business survive, even in times of difficulty.

An executive at Coca-Cola once said, “If Coca-Cola were to lose all of its production-related assets in a disaster, the company would survive. By contrast, if all consumers were to have a sudden lapse of memory and forget everything related to Coca-Cola, the company would go out of business.”

People – whether you’re employing them or selling to them – care more about what a business stands for than what it’s selling. And what a business ‘stands for’ is communicated by its leader – you – through consistent brand building.

That’s what we at Design by Country can help you to do – we care about you and what you stand for and with the help of our team of experts, we create powerful branding that help your people – your customers and employees – care about it too.

Personality-led design by people, for people.

Like the sound of this and want to know more? We’d love to hear from you.

Talk to warran@designbycountry.com

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