In 2020, companies with strong brands survived or thrived; while companies with weak brands struggled or filed for bankruptcy. The lifeline of any business is sales. Without sales there is no business. But how do sales “happen“?
A sale or a customer’s act of buying is an EMOTIONAL decision. Customers feel something. Then try to justify their feeling through logic. And they make the purchase. Most of us follow the same emotional process. We buy a product or service to feel important, to feel joy, to feel respected, to feel comfortable, to feel wealthy, to feel just, to feel responsible, to feel smart, to feel strong, to feel safe, to feel good, etc.
If sales run on feelings; then branding is the fuel. Branding is defining the core value of your company. Values engage and incite our feelings. Customers who believe in your core value will associate a specific feeling with your brand, and become lifelong fanatics. For example, when you hear NIKE, how do you feel? Athletic. Volvo? Safe. Apple? Genius. Coca-Cola? Happy.
However, branding is NOT pretty graphics or flashy taglines. Branding is and must be a trustworthy and transparent core value of the company that is implemented through corporate, operations and points of sale. Otherwise, branding or rebranding fails. From LEGO, to Airbnb, to Harley-Davidson, rebranding done right has proven to double or triple revenues, while attracting lifelong fanatics.
To summarize, branding should make your customers FEEL your brand. Marketing should allow your customers to SEE your brand. While advertising should enable your customer to ACT on your brand. Get BRANDING right, then marketing and advertising become intuitive. Your brand impact will naturally rise, and so will the sales.
SOURCE: https://thriveglobal.com/stories/branding-to-double-or-triple-sales/
