The benefits of branding: 7 reasons why branding is important to your business

Establishing a strong brand is one of the most important steps you can do when building a business. Aside from your products, your brand is what your customers are going to interact with the most and their experience is shaped by how they perceive your brand. And it’s not just a logo — branding is the whole set of experiences, values, style, and content that your business produces.

In case you’re in the process of rebranding or are still questioning the importance of branding, here are 7 reasons why branding is important to your business.

7 major benefits of branding

1. Helps you stand out from the crowd

A lot of small businesses will buy a cheap logo online, pick out a few colors, and close the book on branding, but it’s a lot more complicated than that. You might have a competitor or two with very similar offerings – buying a logo on its own won’t help you determine the strategy of your brand and how you’re going to distinguish yourself from your competitors. There’s no meaning behind that logo and it might not even make sense for your audience.

A good brand has a clear purpose and message that helps you stand out among the competition. Your offerings might be similar to your competitors (and maybe even your style is, too), but your customers will choose you because of your brand. It’s the whole package – customers are drawn to the unique aspects of your brand, your originality, and your brand’s personality.

2. Increases customer recognition

When a customer is scrolling through social media and they come across a post from a brand they recognize, they’re more likely to take notice of it and watch it if it’s a video. Same goes for a shopper walking through the aisle – the products from brands they recognize are going to pop compared to the sea of others, and those are the ones that will end up in their cart.

What makes these brands so irresistible is that they’re eye-catching and familiar. A strong brand is consistent at every touchpoint with customers. You can recognize it just by seeing its color, font, or phrases. That makes it trustworthy, and we like things that are safe.

3. Greater customer loyalty

Not only does your brand help build recognition with your customers, you gain customer loyalty, too. Customer loyalty occurs when the customer has a continuously positive emotional experience with a brand and values the quality of the product or service that they get. Customer loyalty can last a lifetime, making it a key part of the importance of branding.

Customers are attracted to brands that share similar values with them. Showcase what you value through branding and your customers will develop an emotional connection to you.

4. Better credibility

One of the greatest benefits of branding is that it earns you credibility. If it looks like you know what you’re talking about and you come across as professional, people will look to you and your brand as the experts. This increases your credibility within the industry and with your customers. You gain their trust, and that’s going to influence their purchasing decisions in a positive way.

There are lots of ways to show your credibility online. Prezi’s Editorial Director and former LinkedIn editor, Lorraine Lee, uses Prezi Video to walk you through how to optimize your LinkedIn profile and improve your visibility. Watch her video for tips to help establish your credibility in your industry:

5. Consistency

Branding makes it easy to keep things consistent and make decisions more quickly when it comes to your content. You won’t have to slow down to think about what fonts or colors you should be using, which helps streamline you and your team’s workflows.

Good branding also makes it so that your customers get a consistent experience at every touchpoint with your business and eventually become more familiar with your brand. Being consistent is one of the most important steps in building brand awareness — after all, it takes 5-7 impressions before someone remembers your brand.

For more on the effect of consistent branding, check out our guide on increasing brand awareness. For more tips on incorporating your brand into your marketing strategy, see how marketers adapting to a new hybrid environment and learn how to craft an expert PR plan.

6. Higher perceived value

One of the most exciting benefits of branding comes down to the almighty dollar. When you have a strong brand in place, you have the ability to raise prices. A strong brand shows that you’re good at what you do and that you can produce high-quality work or products. Your customers are more likely to value what you offer and pay a higher price for it.

This gives you a lot of negotiation power and is one of the reasons why personal branding is important. With a strong personal brand in place, you’ve taken the time to earn credibility, build a reputation, and be perceived as an expert in your field. When you’re weighing a job offer or want to negotiate a higher salary, you can rely on the power of your personal brand.

Diana YK Chan is a career coach, speaker, and trainer at My Marketability. She comments on value, credibility, and more in her video on the benefits of a great personal brand. Watch here for her insights:

7. Attracts talent 

When a company has a great brand, people notice. Applicants are more likely to be interested in a brand that looks put together and professional. It’s likely to be a great experience for them and have a positive impact on their careers.

Another benefit of branding is its ability to attract partners, including companies looking to co-brand, influencers, and content aggregators. High-caliber partners want to work with brands that are on the same level, and when you work with partners like this, you add to your creative powerhouse.

Branding your visual content is easy

It’s a lot easier to produce on-brand content consistently when you can access your brand’s guidelines with the click of a button. That’s why Prezi created the brand kit, a collection of presets that allow you to create videos, presentations, infographics, and assets that are on brand each and every time. Share your brand kit with your team for department-wide consistency.

To see some of our favorite examples of branded videos and to learn more about the benefits of branding, head on over to the Prezi Video Gallery. If you have any insights or tips that you want to share, record a video and tag it with #branding. You might be featured, too!