19 Dec The Evolving State of Branding
In our last article, we discussed Allie Weaver’s recent Business Brokerage Press webinar “Marketing Workshop: Who Will Your Brand Be in 2024?” During this informative discussion, Weaver offered guidance for business brokers and M&A advisors who are looking towards building a powerful brand identity.
She noted that “clarity and direction” are critical to building a great brand. It is through branding that a company’s team is unified, trust is built, and a sense of community can form. When done correctly, branding will create an environment where “people can’t wait to do business with you.”
Direction and Focus
There is unity in a properly branded business that flows from its mission and vision statement. In a sense, you can look at branding as guidance, and a constitution of sorts, that acts to direct all other actions.
Branding is more faceted and important than many might believe. As Weaver astutely noted, “if you don’t brand yourself, someone else will. If you are not active in cultivating and influencing what people think about you, your company and your industry, then the process will run wild.” The end result, will be that your branding will not be directed by you in a focused manner, but will be at the mercy of others.
Achieving Mindshare
It is through branding that a company can occupy what Weaver calls the “mindshare” of prospective clients or customers. By mindshare, Weaver means that “if you are not constantly in the minds of the people doing business with you, then all it takes is for someone else to be clearer, more relevant, and more present to knock down your status.” Customers are always making decisions about what company to trust and what direction to turn. Powerful, concise and clear branding can help to ensure that customers and clients consistently turn in your direction.
Branding is also a way to quickly communicate to your prospective customers and clients. Your branding should answer at least some of the all-important questions:
- Why should I work with you?
- Why shouldn’t I work with the other guy?
- Why are you my best option?
- What sets you apart?
- How is what you offer better and different?
For Weaver, branding is a “set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, when taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.”
Reflecting upon the previous sentence, it becomes amply clear that branding is a complex process; it is one that is in an ongoing state of evolution. Ultimately, the time you invest in building and maintaining your brand may be the critical difference in the success of your business.
