Simply put, if you sell a product or service you need branding.

Branding is your business’ personality. If your business is interacting with the public, you have a brand already. Branding is every interaction your business has with everyone. If you are not consciously thinking about your brand, you still have one, you just don’t have control over it. It’s important to use your brand as a tool to connect with your ideal customer and communicate why you are different from your competitors. 

B2B businesses need to think about the types of businesses they want to work with. More specifically who that decision maker in those businesses is. For us, we are often speaking directly with the owner, but for others it might be sales manager, HR director, or a project manager.

B2C business need to think about their end users. Sometimes it’s important to think about who is actually spending the money, but sometimes there’s an influence in the background. A great example of this is kid’s toys. While parents are making the actual purchase, it’s the kids that are influencing the buying decision. Conversely, daycares are where parents are paying money and making the decision, yet most day care brands focus on kids and are quite childish. 

You need to invest in your brand if you are in a highly competitive market, it’s important to stand out and to show a cohesive and succinct market position. Branding can be hugely influential on buying choices. Industries that are highly competitive like real estate and plumbing have design clichés like houses and water drops respectively. You can look generic if you down’t work to make yourself unique. Do you offer a generic run-of-the-mill service?

You need branding as a service if you DIY-ed your branding at one point or another (and you’re not a brand strategist or graphic designer). It’s important to get an outside perspective on your business and to work with someone who has the visual vocabulary and skills to reach your dream customer. 

You need branding if you have grown significantly or changed markets. Market changes can include changing location, adding a product or service, or targeting a new demographic.

You need branding if you have a lot of consumer questions about your business. Are people calling you and asking if you do something that you… don’t do…? Does it happen a lot? Do you get pain in the ass customers that are feeling blindsided by your pricing or process when you think it should be clear? Are you struggling to tell people what it is you do for work? 

New business owners need branding! We understand this one can be stressful because start-ups have so many other costs to tackle. Branding can be a big investment. vBranding is however, exactly that — an investment. A brand done well will show you returns. The sooner you can invest in your branding as a new business the better off you will be. 

Your brand is a living entity. It is meant to grow and change with your business. It shouldn’t stagnate as your business grows because it will hold you back, and start to look dated. Likewise, you shouldn’t change it so often that people are confused about who you are and what you do. If you are a business owner, you need a brand strategy that works and grows with your business, understands your customers, and adapts to a changing market.