Do Brands Matter?

In today’s world of advertising opportunities coupled with the rise of social media, it’s easy to ask the question, “Do Brands Matter?”

It will be no surprise to you if you’ve been following the blog that the answer (in my opinion) is a resounding, “YES, Brands Matter!” Let me explain why.

The Reasons Brands Matter

1. Whether you’re advertising, marketing, or hiding out in a hole — your company is being recognized. Your customers (and potential customers) are actively attributing feelings, opinions, and categories to your business. This attribution IS A BRAND. It may not be a great brand, it may not be a strong brand, it might be inconsistent, and it might be negative (or positive), but it IS a brand.
2. People do business with companies they like. And they like companies that are consistent and upon which they can rely. Think about it. When you know what to expect from a person (or business), you are more likely to “like” them. But if you don’t know if you’re going to get Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde on any given day — you’re less likely to want to spend time in their company. And you’re much less likely to buy from them repeatedly. Being consistent with your messaging helps your customers and potential customers to know what to expect and to like you more.
3. When you brand a business, you’re essentially creating consistency in your outward messaging for your customers. This consistency gives you a 1 + 1 = 10 effect when it comes to your advertising because you no longer have dissonated messages out there in the marketplace. When every message you send is congruent with every other message you send to customers, they remember it — know where to file you as a business, and will more rapidly adopt your company into their usual shopping habits.

At the end of the day, all the advertising you are doing is creating a Brand. So if your social media, Black Friday ads, general advertising, customer experience, and all the other outward-facing elements of your business are not telling the same story — you’re missing out — you’re building a brand, but it’s not one many people will want to embrace.

It’s like a TV pilot that’s strange. They rarely work out. But well-crafted TV pilots have the opportunity to become long-running series.

With a well-crafted brand, you business can also reap the benefits and become top of mind for your customers.

So YES, brands do matter. What are you doing to build yours?