Do you know the branding for business or B4B? Often branding is confused with the naming of a brand and its visual design . And yet, an indispensable step to build any business is overlooked: having a deep understanding of the market or sector in which a brand wants to position itself.
Branding for business is a transversal thing because it combines different disciplines. From consulting and market research, through graphic design, to digital marketing . Building a brand from scratch is a process that involves implementing and planning interdisciplinary solutions .
Branding can help you to know what place your brand occupies in the market, to differentiate yourself and to coherently communicate your universe. Therefore, this way of understanding the construction of a brand aims to work, mainly, at 3 levels: Research, construction and brand management.
Table of Contents
Branding for business: research and market research
Before creating a brand, it is essential to know the market and the competition. And is that, creating a brand is the process of researching, developing and applying distinctive characteristics to a company or organization to create a certain image of it in the minds of consumers .
In other words, branding is a way of identifying a business. It’s about providing customers with a way to experience and recognize a brand. It is much more than a logo, the brand must have a personality.
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But how do you build this personality to fit the audience you need to reach? Building a strong brand involves in-depth market research to discover why customers should be attracted to your business.
Your brand must reflect what your business represents and what distinguishes it from its competitors: it expresses the qualities, strengths. That is, the personality of your business.
This will help customers remember their business and feel more confident that their products or services will suit their needs. Customers tend to be loyal to a brand they trust.
Building a brand
Once the investigation phase is finished, it is time to make important decisions. When facing branding for business, it must be clear that all the elements that make up the set are not chosen at random. All have been carefully thought out and chosen so that they are in tune with what you want to convey to the public.
Thanks to previous research on opportunities, competition, market and strengths, you can shape the architecture of your brand , its positioning, its identity and its image.
1.- Naming
One of the first steps to materialize the investigation phase is naming . This is the process by which a brand is given a specific name. It may seem like a completely creative element. However, 80% is a political decision .
The name is a very important asset for a brand. It can be decisive for positioning: great naming can pave the way for a brand.
In addition, knowing the market you are going to, as well as your advantages and opportunities compared to your competition can help you choose the name that best reflects your proposal, your values and brand image .
2.- Determine your target audience
One of the keys to success in any business-related area is the target audience . A well-built brand creates awareness . Then comes recognition, trust, and finally income .
And what is the central axis of all this? Definitely consumers. But not just any consumer, but exactly the target audience for your brand, those who will make up the customer portfolio.
If a brand is not able to reach its audience, it will be difficult to obtain benefits. This is where the importance of having carried out a good market study will be noticed. Before shaping the brand, you need to understand who it’s for and how your products or services can be useful to that audience .
Once this is clear, you can build a visual identity and a branding strategy according to the public. The objective is to design a brand adapted to customers and then to know how to associate with it the values and ideas that best fit with them.
3.- The visual identity of the brand
In this point of branding for business, one of the most creative parts of the process of creating a brand will be addressed: its visual design .
In this way, all the visual elements that will constitute the authentic identity of the brand will be created. These elements are:
- The logo . One of the most important elements that can even develop a life of its own.
- The color palette . All the colors you use on your website, your packaging or your advertising must be focused on the emotions you want to arouse in your audience.
- Corporate typefaces . The typography also conveys feelings and values.
- Stationery (business cards, letterheads, etc).
As these elements are created, it is also essential to create a set of guidelines for the brand. In other words, a style manual to regulate the use and composition of all graphic assets.
In this way, you ensure that everyone who uses your brand maintains consistency over time . If you don’t have the necessary knowledge and skills, the smart thing to do is hire a good, experienced professional to shape the entire brand identity.
4.- Establish your mission statement
Establishing a brand mission statement can be as simple as answering the question, why did you create your business? Before creating an identity and brand image that your audience recognizes, values and trusts, it is necessary to understand the purpose of the business .
Making it clear why your company exists is essential in order to design effective branding strategies . Furthermore, every part of your brand must reflect this mission.
5.- Define your values, characteristics and benefits.
Almost certainly within the market to which your company belongs, the competition is very wide. You have previously analyzed this competition and it is time to focus on your own brand.
Therefore, it is now about establishing your own brand values, what specific characteristics and benefits you have to offer the public. I mean, what does your brand have that the others don’t? What makes you differentiate yourself from the rest?
Try to make sure that your brand is made up of and inspired by elements that are uniquely yours. Finding competitive advantages is not easy. It is something that takes time. There is no question of determining the appearance, capabilities or characteristics of the products. It is about defining how your brand improves the lives of consumers .
6.- The personality of your brand
Finally, branding for business also addresses the process of building a personality for the brand. In this sense, it is about establishing communication standards with the target audience . In other words, define a brand voice that connects and resonates with your audience.
If this isn’t in tune with your target, they probably won’t pay attention to you. From your ad campaigns and social media posts, to your blog and brand history, make sure your tone is consistent and consistent.
Give your audience the opportunity to get acquainted with your brand’s personality and learn to always recognize it. It is the best way to establish an emotional bond with customers and strong and lasting relationships with them.
Brand branding management
Once you have defined the first two parts of branding for business, it is vital that you understand that working on your brand branding is a constant task . But for this to be successful, the strategy must always be consistent.
In such a diverse digital environment where millions of things happen at the same time, it is essential to work on branding so that the brand does not deteriorate or go down in history in the minds of consumers.
For this reason, this third level establishes all those guidelines and rules on how to communicate your brand and its contents. Regardless of whether you are targeting customers on social media, distributors or your employees, these standards should be included in an editorial guide to digital content.
This manual is an important tool that can be revised and improved over time. In this paper it will be collected everything related to the brand and ensure that all communication strategy has a consistency over time . Keep in mind that brands that achieve success have a well-defined personality and identity.
Branding for business is the best strategy to show your brand both in the digital and offline environment. It’s about building a brand by making the best strategic decisions based on research and data.
