On the surface, branding might seem like a simple thing to do. At the same time, it can be challenging to accomplish. The business landscape is shifting, consumers are changing their purchasing habits, and there’s a new generation of B2B buyers that you need to reach to keep growing your company.
That’s why branding is so crucial for your sales growth. By building a strong brand, you can increase your visibility and credibility, attract the right people and build relationships with them, and ultimately grow your sales.
Not quite sure where to begin? In that case, start with the basics.
Why is branding important?
Your brand is the single most important thing you have in your business. It represents your company and defines what you’re all about. It’s the first thing that people see when they interact with you, and it speaks to their values and beliefs. Your brand also sets the stage for your products and services, which means choosing the right ones can be the difference between success and failure.
All of this sounds pretty straightforward, but it’s far more complicated than you might think. Your brand is like a person with a mind of its own. You can try to control how it behaves, but it ultimately determines how people see and experience your business. That’s why it’s so important to talk about brand equity and brand perception.
- Brand Equity: Your brand’s value is determined by how people feel about your company and its products. This is primarily based on the experiences that they have with your brand. 63% of employees state that a consistent branding experience directly impacts whether or not a deal is closed – so it’s vital that you consistently deliver a great experience to your customers.
- Brand Perception: The way that people think about your brand, which determines the way that they think about your business as a whole. Your brand perception is often based on your brand equity, but your competitors can also influence your competitors, products, services, and more.
Your brand has a direct impact on your B2B sales strategy. Your brand equity helps build credibility and authority with your customers, which is especially important in today’s business landscape. An increase in brand awareness has a direct (positive) increase on brand creditability, which, in turn, has a positive impact on financial performance.
Your brand perception helps build credibility, but it also helps build relationships. The stronger your brand perception, the stronger your relationships will be. Strong relationships are a cornerstone of successful sales, and they can help you build long-term business partnerships and customer loyalty. With studies showing that approximately 84% of B2B buyers begin their purchasing process thanks to a referral, having a strong brand perception is a great way to build a referral network that can help you grow your sales over time.
Just how big of an impact does branding have on your sales?
The impact of branding on your sales is often difficult to pin down. In some cases, it’s pretty clear that your branding efforts are paying off. For example, you’ll see a significant increase in sales when you launch a new product or make a substantial change to your website.
Sometimes your branding efforts have a more subtle impact. You might not see a massive increase in sales, but you’ll notice that your customers are talking about your brand more than they were before. This has a positive impact on your brand equity, which, in turn, has a positive effect on your sales in the long run.
It’s important to understand that the impact of branding isn’t always immediate, but it’s always an essential part of your sales strategy. Therefore, you must identify specific KPIs that you can track to understand the impact branding is having on your business.
Types of branding you should be investing in
To build a strong brand, you need to invest in suitable types of branding. You can do this by creating a brand strategy, a collection of tactics that you can use to shape your brand perception. All of this is shaped by the content you push out. Various types of content include:
- Videos
- Blog posts
- Guides, whitepapers, checklists
- Templates
- Tutorials
- Social media updates
The most successful brands on the market have a brand strategy focused on delivering a consistent experience to their customers, regardless of where they interact with the brand. Therefore, it is focused on “transactions” but creating a community that you can later engage for sales.
Building a strong brand strategy requires a few key elements:
- A brand mission, which defines why you exist as a brand.
- A brand voice helps define who you are and what you sound like.
- A brand identity is a collection of symbols, colors, and other visual elements that work together to form a cohesive brand.
Your brand identity is the foundation of your brand, so you must take the time to develop a strong identity. Like with any other part of your business, you want to ensure that your brand identity is consistent so that your customers know exactly what to expect from your business. This will help build your brand equity and establish your brand as an authority in your industry.
Align your branding to ensure your sales success
When it comes to your sales strategy, it’s imperative that you get your branding right. A strong brand will help build credibility and relationships, which can help you connect with new customers and increase your sales over time. If you have a high-quality brand strategy in place, you’ll be well on your way to building a strong brand that can help you grow your sales over time.
Lastly, know that building a brand really comes down to delivering valuable content that will drive engagement before actual sales. Position your expertise, share valuable ideas that are also actionable, and input CTAs that aren’t just asking for money but will retain engagement even after a sale is made.
