A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers.
Anytime you walk across the street and see those beautifully designed billboards with some cool artworks with the logo placed strategically, those are the symbols that help us differentiate one brand from another. Walk into business premises and you will feel how highly they hold their branding.
A brand is seen as one of a company’s most valuable assets. To those companies that went public, their brands have assigned a monetary value in the stock market which affects stockholder value as it rises and falls.
At the time of writing this, Safaricom’s brand value i.e. share price is Ksh 29.55 (9th of March 2020) according to the Nairobi Stock Exchange.
Now, why do you need a strong brand? Let us look at some of the reasons:
Branding improves recognition
We live in a world where everyone is out to better their lives. And by doing so many people are going into business like never seen before. It takes little factors to edge out the competition. Business owners who take their time to develop a strong brand, from the outset, stand a higher chance of being recognized by potential clients, unlike those who simply push their doors wide open without taking the time to tell the world who they are.
A strong brand goes a long way in ensuring that you are seen. That potential clients get to pick you from a line of competitors even if they haven’t quite gotten to know your service or product offering, yet.
Branding creates trust
I remember reading someplace, ‘trust is the ultimate business currency.’Click To Tweet
As a business owner, you want to win the trust of both an existing and potential customer. The way you present your business needs to communicate how trustworthy you are.
Say you have designed a new business logo, beautiful business cards, staff T-shirts and branded the outside of the building this gives the business that professional image. Any passersby and others who encounter the logo can now easily identify the business leading them to trust your business.
Branding builds financial value
For years Safaricom has invested millions of shillings to build a formidable local brand, upon which services like Mpesa ride on comfortably.
This has brought Safaricom immense value on the stocks exchange despite there being very stiff competition. Companies who publicly trade on a stock exchange are valued at many times the actual hard assets of the company. Much of this value is due to the branding of the company. A strong brand often guarantees future business.
Branding inspires employees
At the moment of employment, she is looking for something more. For her, employment is not the usual vicious cycle of work – paycheck – work and on and on. She wants to feel inspired. Like she is contributing to something more than her paycheck.
A strong brand is capable of rallying its employees behind pertinent causes close to the employee’s hearts thus giving them an extra reason to rise early to work and stay late.
Branding generates new customers
The name of the company not so much. When she is asked by friends who did this for her, she has no clue. That is how businesses end up losing business.
But if you had a good chance of imprinting your name in the face and mind of your client (solid branding) then she will be glad to refer other clients your way. Why? She remembered your business name.
