Three Reasons Why You Should be Building Your Brand Now. And One Reason Why Not.
It’s noisy out there. The number of brands that demand your attention every hour is shocking. Don’t Google it. But the fact that it’s noisy doesn’t mean you need to yell louder as a brand. It means you need to be consistent and regular in your brand building approaches and playing the long game will pay off.
No? Check out our three reasons and then decide for yourself.
One - Brands that are perceived as ‘put together’ instill trust and trust pays
Like it or not humans make immediate judgements based on appearance. My guess is if you have a well-developed brand you’re felling okay about those immediate judgements. Equate it to presenting yourself in a particular way in a job interview. You may or may not get the gig, but you’re immediately removing a potential impediment. Then it’s up to you to reinforce that first impression and get the gig.
It’s similar for an organization, especially an organization that requires an investment from their audience whether that be a purchase, a donation, a subscription or something else. According to salsify.com consumers will pay 46% more in 2022 for brand names they trust. Even more interesting in my mind is the fact that the statistic has gone up from 30% in 2021!
A well-developed brand removes the impediments to gaining trust. (It looks like that logo was made in Word…is this is a scam?? Or worse, do they not value their organization enough to invest in a proper logo?) But a well-developed brand without brand building efforts behind it will remain a completely unknown brand, regardless of how important it is.
Which leads me to…
Two - Brands that aren’t already top of mind are fighting an uphill battle when the time comes
The time for what? You name it. Need more donors? Need more customers? Need more clients? A brand that’s top of mind can turn the marketing spigot on a bit to accommodate those immediate needs. A brand that’s brand new in the mind of its audience is starting from square one.
The investment in these ongoing brand building initiatives doesn’t have to be massive. We recommend building foundational pieces like a website first. And then there are some quick outbound marketing techniques like paid digital ads that can get some eyeballs on your organization…but the inbound marketing like SEO and content marketing are the efforts that are going to establish your organization as a resource or just a brand folks like to hear from. The investment will pay dividends when you really need it to.
Three - There’s likely someone on your heels
Your organization may be your one and only. You may be the first brand folks think of or the first brand to market. But there’s a good chance that there’s another organization that is either right behind you or one that’s in the works as we speak. And building your brand is one of the most powerful defensive techniques you can employ.
There are actually cases where really well supported brands benefit from their competitors’ efforts. Maybe someone sees a competitor and searches the services you both provide. If you’ve built those foundational pieces, guess who’s coming up first? But on the other side of the coin, if you haven’t invested in your brand, the new organization can benefit from your longstanding presence because your foundation is not in place.
Don’t do it!
If your organization is in disrepair or transition, the better investment, both financially and with your time, is to get things in order. This seems obvious but the reason may not be what you think. Folks will ask us, “Why don’t we launch a campaign that shows what we’re hoping our brand will be while we’re burying bad reviews and rebuilding our team, website, brand, leaky toilets…” Why not? Because the brand you’re putting out there is not real and transparent.
66% of people believe that transparency is one of the most attractive attributes in a brand. And they can smell it a mile away. This PDF is worth a download and read. It talks about purpose-led brands and how essential they are today. If you don’t believe me, believe them. Regardless, don’t put yourself out there until you’re buttoned up and ready to be proud and true about who you are as a brand.
Convinced?
Honestly, we're not in the business of convincing people. We believe in providing information and letting people do what they will with it. But if this inspires you to consider building your brand, we're happy to help…or just discuss the concept. But don’t reach out if you have a leaky toilet. We're useless there.