7 Crucial Elements of a Strong Brand

It’s easy to forget how valuable something as intangible as “branding” is to a business’s progress or frustration. But, to have a long-term business model, branding is a lot more significant than the particular products and services one offers today.

We have to agree that along with the product and services of the product, branding is also a prime aspect in its growth. Think about the brands you have come to know and love and how they have readjusted over the years. See how a strong brand changes with the times, but keeps its core values intact.

7 Elements of a Strong Brand

1.Creates Value And Identity

Building a brand means consolidating and blending every phase of your work to convey a common message. It will start with an idea on a specific niche that gets concretized with the name. A tagline for the company conveys the value to be provided. The Visual dimension is covered with a well-designed logo of particular colour/s. The colour defines the nature of your works.

In the execution, every step and task will be channelised around specific values. When you use these entities repeatedly across different platforms people start building your story around these entities. This, in the long run, will be the part of your identity, adding value to whatever you do.

2.Product Differentiation ( UVP )

A strong brand can instantly be separated itself as unique from its competition, and the owners of the business know exactly how to do that through its strong retailing messages mission statement. One of the best ways to find out your mission statement is to identify the UVP of your business, in other words, Unique Values Proposition.

What values your business or services provider that makes it different from the masses in the market. Knowing your Unique Value proposition will not only help you to grasp the audiences and prospect customer more effectively but will also leverage your brand image information of others. ( As explained Below )

How to find your UVP ( Unique Value Proposition )

Let’s take an example of The Brand Apple.

Apple iPhone – The Experience Is the Product

Even in today’s oversaturated and competitive consumer electronics marketplace, it’s difficult to envision a more iconic product than the Apple iPhone. It’s also hard to imagine a product with as much competition as Apple’s flagship mobile device, so what sets the iPhone apart from the (literally) hundreds of racing and competitive devices on the market?

As you’d probably anticipate from Apple, a firm famous as much for its commitment to sleek, rich product design as its genuine products, Apple firmly reiterates its value proposition in the copy about its iPhone range of products – specifically, the design of the device itself, the ease of use that has been a cornerstone of Apple’s design aesthetic since the launch of OS X, and the envisioning qualities that an iPhone supposedly offers the user.

This aspirational messaging is Apple’s value proposition. Find out you have to offer to your customers that assist them to feel different while using your services or product, it can be the customer support, the product or a consumer-centric offer etc.

3.Distill your brand essence

Be clear about what you stand for in a word or phrase. When I think of Apple, the last thing on my mind is the specs of the newest MacBook Pro.

Does everyone in your company know exactly what your brand symbolises? If not, the brand pyramid  offers a framework. Let’s illuminate how it works using a fictitious face cream product.

• Let’s take a look from the bottom. What are its key characteristics? Suppose This face cream diminishes wrinkles.
• Now, define the logical benefits by completing the following statement: “When a customer purchases my product, the benefit they receive is (blank).” In our example, customers benefit by looking younger and feeling more charming.
• The next step is to identify the emotional rewards. How would customers feel? The emotional benefit here is a confidence booster.
• Finally, top your pyramid with your brand essence or purpose. The face cream is ultimately about optimism. Of course, this company doesn’t tell consumers: “Our products give you optimism.” Instead, “optimism” represents the compelling emotional lens into which they market their product.

4. Build a Community

Everyone wants to be part of something bigger than themselves, it boosts their morale as well that they are following/admiring something interesting. Early adopters want credit for being there early, your middle adopters want to see that there’s something there to welcome them in, and late birds are attracted by something that appears inevitable. Communities take different sizes and shapes.

Take constant feedback from your audiences about your brand and business, take inspirations from the following points

• How can I improve more in delivering the services or product?
• Give them choices accordingly to the features they want next
• Feedback forms are a must to know your customer better
• If you have a good following on social media, then you can arrange a poll on Twitter before launching your next product

6.Powerful Vision

Your ability to tell your brand story in detail while also yielding your vision with your audience is paramount to creating a strong brand that can stand the test of time. The vision notifies the marketing efforts that drive the message. Remember that people want to follow something Big and that make them feel unique and special.

7.Product Awareness

This is earned through exceptional marketing programs that give consideration to the benefits of the product, directed toward the ideal audience. It seeks to ensure that even non-customers are familiar with the brand and know that it is trustworthy. The customers are very loyal and are repeat customers. For example- Running online ads to targeted audiences.

8.Passion with Clarity

The Drive and focus that passion brings to the table when it comes to your product and service will nurture the brand during both lean times and times of abundance. The passion will also enable you and your team to provide top-notch customer care and continued spectacular product and service development.

Branding is important for small business owners as well as large ones. If you have a limited budget, smart branding is perhaps the most inexpensive business tool you can create. Clarity of a brand correlates with passion if you have a clear mission ( it does not matter which tactics you take to reach it ) then it can benefits you on the physiological aspect as well.

What are your thoughts on this ? Drop a comment below.