The Influence of Branding in Improving Consumer Behavior
If you think that owning a business is challenging enough, wait until you hear this. Right now, according to the US Small Business Administration, there are approximately 33.3 million small businesses across the United States.
And that’s just small companies in just one country! How, then, can you stand out as a unique business that offers excellent products or services to happy and loyal customers and thrives in such a competitive landscape? One word: branding.
By focusing on boosting your branding, you can achieve all the above, and more. If you’re curious to find out how branding influences consumer behavior, keep reading.
Brand and Branding: Understanding Two Key Concepts
Before we venture into the nitty gritty of the influence of branding in improving consumer behavior, it’s worth clarifying what “brand” and “branding” mean.
What Is a Brand?
A brand is the identity of a company. Think about a bunch of companies all selling smartphones. As soon as you picture three or four names, you will almost certainly associate each one with a specific brand.
Apple and Samsung are possibly the two main ones, and each has a unique set of values, visions, missions, and aesthetics.
A brand includes:
- A brand name
You need to come up with a non-copyrighted name that both encapsulates the essence of your brand and hints at what you’re selling.
- A logo
Visual elements can help us distinguish a brand from its rivals, so you need a catchy, memorable, and unique logo that seamlessly ties in with your brand name.
Typography choices
Serif or sans serif? Or maybe a handwriting style? The choices you make when it comes to your brand’s fonts are crucial, as they help set the overall tone for your brand.
Color palette
Certain colors are associated with specific emotions and states. So, depending on what your brand wants to convey, you need to select the shades that best communicate what you stand for.
Visuals
These are anything that’s not written text—from your logo to any supporting graphics, including photos, illustrations, and video content.
Tone of voice
How do you want to come across? Serious? Cheerful? Determined and powerful? Soft and empathetic? The way you speak with your audience determines your tone of voice.
Brand values and mission
Which causes do you stand for? What do you aspire to achieve through your product or services? All this goes into your brand’s values and mission—made even more compelling if conveyed through storytelling techniques.
Now that we’ve explored what a brand is, let’s take a look at what branding consists of in the next section.
What Is Branding?
If a brand is the result of the creation of a series of elements—most of which we have listed in the previous section—then branding is the process that contributes to the creation of those elements.
As you might expect, due to the varied nature of branding elements, the branding process can be complex. For instance, say you are in the early stages of building your brand’s visual identity. This step will involve creating a range of things, such as:
- A logo
- A color scheme
- Supporting visuals and graphics
- Social media posts and captions
- Product packaging
Just by looking at this list, you’ll realize the scope of this task. Likely, there will be an array of professionals involved—including graphic and product designers, social media marketers, and logo designers—performing a range of tasks, from putting together a packaging mock-up to refining account based marketing tactics.
And this is only one small part of branding! You’ll still be left with other crucial aspects to take care of, such as choosing a tone of voice that resonates with your audience, drafting a mission statement, selecting the font that best represents your brand, and much more.
Everything that’s involved in the research, development, and implementation of your unique brand identity is what branding is all about.
How Branding Affects Consumer Behavior
So, you’ve put together your branding dream team, selected the best ABM tools, and are ready to make a splash in the market. Now is the perfect time to discuss how a strong and unique brand identity can positively influence your consumers’ behavior.
Let’s dive in!
It Improves Your Customers’ Perceptions
When it comes to the customer-brand relationship, first impressions matter a lot. And what can help you make a great first impression with new customers? You’ve guessed it: good branding. One of the reasons these first interactions are so crucial is that they affect the perception customers have of your brand’s products or services.
If a customer perceives your brand as an authentic business that sells great-quality goods, then they will be much more likely to buy from you. And if their experience with you continues to be very positive over time, not only will you have a returning customer, you have a customer who’s easier to turn into a real brand advocate.
It Can Boost Consumer Purchasing Power
When we talk about consumer purchasing power, we simply mean how much money a consumer has that allows them to buy things. Naturally, this factor has a lot to do with how much a person earns, whether they have a job in the first place, and things like inflation and cost of living.
Why, you might wonder, would branding influence a consumer’s purchasing power? After all, isn’t that determined by elements that have nothing, or very little, to do with the actual thing they buy? Well, it’s not always that simple.
When consumers need (or want) to buy something, they typically start doing some research, often online, and compare different options. Ultimately, they will land on a decision and complete a purchase. The product or service with the strongest, most compelling, and most recognizable branding has a much higher chance of coming up first.
It Enhances the Status of Your Brand
What happens when your company makes a great first impression through branding, and even has a strong influence on consumers’ purchasing power? The status of your brand skyrockets.
And if your brand becomes associated with a higher status and prestige compared to its competitors, consumers tend to be more attracted to it, with your brand becoming top of mind every time they need one of the products or services that you provide.
Status, though, is not an overnight achievement. It requires working hard to build a brand identity that inspires value, authenticity, and credibility; and that delivers consistently high solutions as well as spotless customer service. So, it’s not a popularity race but a thoughtful marathon towards trustworthiness and prestige.
It Boosts Customer Satisfaction, Loyalty, and Retention
You probably know what happens after you’ve achieved all the benefits outlined above: higher brand loyalty. Regardless of the sector you operate in, whether you’re a SaaS provider providing API solutions (read this for an API definition) or an eCommerce store selling custom jewelry, boosting your brand loyalty factor is always desirable.
Through consistent and unmistakable branding, your target audience will gradually become more and more familiar with your products or services, which in turn will entice them to try them out at least once. By integrating advanced technologies such as SIP trunking, businesses can streamline their communications infrastructure, which not only improves efficiency but also reinforces the brand’s image as a leader in innovation. And when your offering delivers what you’re promising, that’s the perfect recipe for happy, satisfied, and returning customers.
After all, why would anyone leave a brand they know, love, and share values with, a brand that provides excellent products or services, for someone they have no experience with and who might not even have any kind of reputation? That’s why building a brand over time is so crucial: it’s like crafting a unique, valuable, and irreplaceable friendship with someone who truly cares about you.
Key Takeaways
Finding a great, unique, and memorable business name for your company is a great start, but the real magic happens with branding. As we have seen in this article, a solid brand identity not only sets you apart from your competitors but can also positively influence the behavior of your consumers.
While the overall branding process can be lengthy and complicated, the benefits you’ll be able to reap if you perform every step correctly will definitely make it a worthwhile effort.
By focusing on building and strengthening your branding, in fact, you’ll be much better positioned to craft authentic, positive, and long-lasting customer relations that will keep supporting your brand for years.
