Branding Explained with a 10-second Primer

Experience a Brand in 10 Seconds

Think of someone you know: An old friend in your mind's eye.

Someone you've weathered the storms with.

Now, picture their face in your mind.

Now their laugh. The timbre of their voice; how they dress; how you feel when you see them. Try to hold the experience of your friend in your mind.

Isn't that something?

Your friend is not a mere memory, it's a collage of experiences, emotions, it’s almost as if you carry with you an idea of their essence.

You see, your friend is more than a physical presence.

They're an experience in your mind you’ve developed over a lot of interactions and memories.

A brand works in a similar way. It’s an unconscious brand builder. That is, your brain is constantly assembling bits of information into cohesive wholes. This helps you navigate the world with less effort.

Think of it this way, it it easier to walk carry a handful of sand or a pebble?

What your mind just did with your friend? This is what business do with a brand. They attempt to assemble a cohesive whole in your mind.

You see a logo, hear a jingle, return an item, talk on the phone, visit the website, use the service or live with the product, and slowly an image starts to form.

Like a memory, it lingers and shapes your perceptions.

Okay, let’s try it with a brand you interact with - your favorite clothing company, or an auto shop you use.

If I were to ask you, “What do you think of them?”

How would you describe this impression you have of the them?

Is it trustworthy? Cheap? Kinda cold? Organized? Reliable? Sloppy but cool? Disgruntled? What is your opinion of “them.”

The thing is, this opinion of yours just came from a collage of experiences from a customers-eye-view.

Now, if you're interested in how brands come to be, this is where you’d start to trace every impression (aka touchpoint) you had with the business.

You might find it was that genuine cashier, a trusty return policy, sturdy stitching in the jacket pocket, the music or scent in the store.

Building a brand is about identifying the touchpoints where you, the customer, had these experiences, then crafting them instead of just letting them take on a life of their own.

It’s all about what the customer, the one holding the cash, have felt and seen.

By building a brand, you earn:

• Customer Retention: Like an enduring friendship, a strong brand keeps customers coming back. They feel connected, they trust you, and they become advocates because they can articulate their experience.

• Market Positioning: Your brand distinguishes you in the market. It gives your business identity and purpose.

• Perceived Value: A strong brand elevates the perceived value of a product or service. Just as a friendship might become invaluable over time, a brand can embed itself in the minds of customers as offering something unique and exceptional, worth paying more for.

• Quality Assurance: A recognized brand often signifies quality. Customers are willing to pay more when they believe they're getting superior quality, dependability, and an overall better experience.

No one has summed up the research better than famed researchers Les Binet and Peter Field put it: “A brand sells more product to more people more often at a higher margin.” Who wouldn’t invest in that?

What About Your Business?

So here’s your homework: Think about how your customers see your brand. Think about those “touchpoints” where they brush up against your business. With whom? And most importantly, what are they really seeing?

Because trust me, they’ve got a picture of you in their heads, whether you like it or not. Might be a bit fuzzy, or maybe it's sharp and striking.

Either way, it's there. And you can sculpt it, tweak it, turn it into something memorable and worth coming back to at a premium, happily.

That is branding.