“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou
The word “branding” is thrown around quite often these days, but it’s safe to say that its definition remains unclear to many. I’m here to clear it up for you and ensure that you can leverage branding to make your business stand out, increasing its growth potential with greater focus and clarity.
What is Branding?
Branding is the process of creating a unique identity for a business that emotionally connects with its audience, clearly communicates its mission, and differentiates it from competitors. It’s the intersection of fact and feelings. The facts are what the buyer wants to accomplish on the other side of your interaction and how they felt before and would like to feel during and after that interaction. There’s a lot of room for delight and connection here.
Why Does Branding Matter?
Branding matters for three main reasons: differentiation, customization, and inspiration. A brand helps your audience understand and recognize how amazing your business is FOR THEM, drawing them in with clear, practical results and emotional connection. Moreover, it inspires you, the founder, and other stakeholders to work with a purpose. While external reasons (like making money) are crucial, internal/inspired reasons drive transformation.
A compelling brand explores what makes a business unique, compelling, and competitive, not just in terms of price, technology, or aesthetics but also through emotional drivers that encourage repeat business and word-of-mouth referrals. It’s about tapping into emotions to communicate value and positioning, making people’s lives better and offering more than just a transactional experience.
The Power of Emotional Connection
People buy from those they (say it with me now) know, like, and trust. This KLT (Know, Like, Trust) factor is only stimulated through a consistent, emotional connection that not only delivers services but also makes customers feel good, seen, and respected as people. It’s not only about solving a problem immediately; it’s about fostering long-term relationships that engage meaningfully.
Owning the Narrative
When you have a brand, you get to determine what you want people to think and feel about your business and work to create experiences that speak to this narrative. This means basing your narrative on real, authentic elements that drive connection. Your brand should reflect your true mission, vision, and values, inviting your audience to a story that resonates deeply with their aspirations and your authenticity to build trust.
How It Happens: The Wintentional Brand MAPP
We utilize the Wintentional Brand MAPP, which stands for:
- Mission: This is about what drives you as a person beyond money. It is about the personal inspiration that you hope to see manifest in the business that you operate and the transformation that you’d like to accomplish in the lives of your audience if they interact with you. It is about the value and what you add to their lives because of the unique perspective that you bring to the problem that they may not have experienced before.
- Audience: When you expect to have successful relationships, you work to know your audience intimately. Branding is no different. While you may begin with a general audience as you’re discovering your business, you eventually narrow your focus to a specific market so that you can create messaging and products that our market will appreciate and adopt with relative ease.
- Positioning: You communicate how you stand out in the market compared to competitors and in accordance with the audience’s expectations, needs, wants, and aspirations. You use the deep knowledge gained in market research about their feelings, lifestyle, problems, product usage, and habits to communicate why you stand out as the best solution for them.
- Present: This is about how you create the experience of the brand. Any touch point that the audience engages that speaks to your brand – this can be your website, marketing content, onboarding, partnerships, etc. – is an opportunity to prove that you are who you say you are and invite them on the journey.
The Importance of Branding in Collaborations
When collaborating, a clear brand is vital. Collaborations offer opportunities to work with aligned business partners to spread the message of your movement. Yes, if you have a brand, you have a movement because you drive people toward inspired transformation. A clear brand helps you:
- Identify the right partners whose work strengthens your brand integrity.
- Ensure audience alignment for maximum impact.
- Determine the communication strategies necessary for a successful partnership.
Impactful branding is about more than just visual appeal; it’s about creating an emotional connection and authentic inspiration that drives long-term relationships and transformations. Understanding and consistently implementing strategic branding can elevate your business, inspire your audience, and make you the go-to or “That Girl” in a crowded market.
