Before we get into the impact an investment in branding can have, let's start at the beginning...
What is branding?
Branding is the process of giving meaning to a company, product or individuals by creating, and shaping, how a brand is perceived by consumers. Branding is a strategy designed by organizations to help people quickly identify and experience their brand. It gives customers a reason to choose their products over competitors by clarifying what the brand is and is not.
Why is it important to invest in good branding?
Branding not only makes a memorable impression on consumers, it allows your customers to know what to expect from your company. Branding distinguishes an organization from its competitors and clarifies how its offerings are the superior choice.
Branding tells your story quickly and succinctly. It helps introduce customers to who the business is, what it does, and why people should care. Without this information, consumers don’t have an incentive to choose your company over another.
Branding builds an emotional connection. If developed strategically, a brand will be built to appeal to your ideal audience. Their needs, challenges, and dreams will be baked into the brand, helping the business not only resonate with users but ultimately turn them into customers and advocates.
Branding instills confidence. Establishing a strong, consistent brand builds credibility among consumers. It reassures them of who the business is and what it will deliver. This consistency is what will drive sales and increased customer lifetime value.
Branding (good branding) gives a business purpose and direction. A brand with a solid foundation is necessary for all future efforts. It sets the tone and vision for the company. Branding creates a set of guidelines from which efforts can be carried out. Whether that’s through an ad that fits within the brand’s visual representation or a business decision that aligns with the brand’s values. A methodically created brand helps to propel the future of a business.
What business impacts can branding have?
Branding impacts vary from business to business but can range anywhere from greater company recognition, to an increase in qualified leads, to improved revenue and company standing.
Below are just a few examples of how companies’ bottom lines have felt a positive impact, and continued impact, from their investment in branding efforts.
Branding Case Studies
Modern Rebranding Generates Global Product Sales
Challenge: The Millar brand had remained largely unchanged for half a century. The company was struggling to connect with its audience and potential business partners, and in result, losing stature in the market as an innovator as well as in sales.
Approach: First, internal teams were aligned to modernized the culture and brand. From there, the company strategically repositioned the company by: evaluating the market, harnessing the company’s history, establishing a relevant brand voice, and refining customer messaging and framework.
Results: Re-energized internal teams and company position as well as a 30% YoY growth rate.
New Digital Experience Drives Business Position & Leads
Challenge: ABS Group, a leading technical services provider, wanted to boost its reputation as a total solutions partner and increase consistency between online messages and offline efforts.
Approach: Enhanced and unified the digital experience for users through building a new user experience and responsive website.
Results: Tripled business leads and requests for proposal (RFPs) through the website in the first 6 months.
Repositioning & Promotion Produces Increased Leads
Challenge: Chemstations’ brand image wasn’t accurately conveying its market-leading position or effectively capturing brand recognition. The company worried that low brand visibility compared to a larger competitor was impacting its ability to attract new leads and increase market share.
Approach: The company implemented a mindset shift to focus on their total brand experience, and from that, built the new brand around the company’s ability to solve problems. The rebrand repositioning focused on Chemstations true unique value proposition — advancing the product of their customer — instead of its past efforts of focusing on their own technology. Additionally, in an effort to grow awareness and qualified leads, a digital advertising campaign was launched.
Results: This rebrand generated a 200% increase in free trial sign-ups and 25% YoY growth. Furthermore, the digital advertising campaigns doubled the number of qualified leads during its two-month testing period.
Branding Shifts Combat Enrollment Decreases
Challenge: Marine Military Academy (MMA) needed to take action to reverse their downward enrollment trends. They lacked a place for prospective students and their parents to get the information they need to make informed decisions leading to decreasing numbers in qualified leads.
Approach: First, invest in branding by redefining the entire brand experience to develop enhanced messaging that spoke to the full value of a MMA education. Steps were taken to create ever-present prospect engagement functionality through a digital presence that not only strengthens the academy’s brand perception but also tells MMA’s story clearly and concisely. It provides improved usability, engages users with more interactivity and compelling imagery. It also increases the opportunity for dialogue through use of social media and offers a better path for the application process.
The approach also aimed to dispel misperceptions of the product by positioning MMA as a positive environment where students can transform.
Results: The branding shifts led to U.S. based student enrollment inquiry form submissions to increase 37%.
Adoption of the new positioning also drove the school to embrace new operational changes that aligned with the new brand. Because of this, MMA has revamped its curriculum, updated its pitch to prospective students and retooled its internal training program, which resulted in a 500% increase in social engagement and a 500% lead increase through digital recruitment seminar attendance.
Brand Improvements Helps Company’s Standing & Successful Acquisition
Challenge: Ascende, the human capital and employee benefits consulting firm, originally operated under the name Employee Benefits Solutions. The company felt limited by its existing name and needed a new brand to capture the full value and range of its service offerings. They understood a change needed to be made as the company faced a turbulent marketplace and increasing competitive pressures.
Approach: The approach started with an in-depth market research and brand audit. Information gathered was leveraged during a complete company rebrand, including the business' name. With the new brand in place, the website was overhauled to feature stronger brand messaging, user-friendly experience and a better platform for sharing insights and expertise.
Results: Investing in the rebrand made it easier for Ascende to communicate services and value to prospective clients. Within a few years of the rebrand launch, Ascende received an offer to join EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants, a Top 20 company in the industry with a national presence. Ascende's successful acquisition reflects the increased value of the brand.
Your Turn
Interested in leveraging your brand to achieve business results? Reach out. We'd love to chat about how we can help.
Case study sources: Millar | ABS Group | Ascende | Chemstations | Marine Military Academy