How many times have you thought to yourself “I don’t need branding”.

Or maybe it’s “I don’t need anything except the logo”.

The reason why many brand designers don’t offer a la carte services is because branding is a necessary part to getting to logo. The real meat is in the brand strategy. Without this we’re merely designing for whatever we feel like. There’s no rhyme there’s no reason. There’s just a random graphic.

Now this might be fine for something like artwork here and there, maybe some home decor, etc. But when it comes to– and let me emphasize this– business, you can’t have random.

Having something random means there’s no plan. You’re just trying to wing it. And if you’re just trying to wing it that means time isn’t very valuable and neither are the results of what you’re trying to get from this.

I’m not saying you need some crazy big business plan in the works, especially in the beginning.

However, you will need some sort of guide to help you into in order to succeed in your business. and in order to succeed in your business? You’ll need one thing. Buyers. So let me help you to understand how branding and customers are correlated.

Start with brand strategy

To understand why branding is necessary for customers, you’ll need a little bit of background about the strategy.

Why are things the way they are?

People always give me the example of how logos like Coca-Cola or other big companies were designed randomly or sporadically. And if that’s the case, why spend so much time on research, strategy or money?

Well, times were different back then when it came to businesses. Not too many people were starting their own thing, and not a lot of people get to Coca-Cola’s level of success! These days, without having intention and purpose behind anything you do especially when you have a ton of competitors, you’ll be sure to be lost in the mix.

Branding is what helps people talk about you the way you want them to talk about you. If you want to be the best in a web design for photographers, then you need to brand. If you want to be known as a sustainable fair-trade clothing company for children, then you need a brand. Do you see where I’m going with this?

Why is this necessary for growth?

In order to have a brand make sense to your target market, you’ll need to have some things researched are done through experience.

Do you already know your customers? Do you already know your audience? And do you already know your clients?

If the answer is no then you might have to step back and do a little bit of industry and competitive research to see what works in your line of business.

If you already have the customers to back it up, then their feedback will be highly valuable to your success.

Knowing who they are, what their problem is, how they can find a solution, and even how they think, is crucial for your brand.

While one thing might attract a certain person, it might make other people walk away. But that’s okay!

That’s exactly what you want. Who has time to waste searching and qualifying the right customers? With branding, you can help qualify them and let them know if they are in the right place.

Set your brand up for customer success

If you’ve done the proper research for your target market or audience, then you’re ready to continue to this next step.

This is all about getting into their heads to figure out if you’re the right person to fix their problem.

So let’s say your customer wants a beautiful website because they are small business owners who sell products online. Maybe this person is in her mid-thirties, and has been in business for a few years. And now starting to really ramp up to the next level.

They want a professionally built website that is dynamic, beautiful, and straightforward. They want people to be drawn to the design, the styles, and most importantly their products. And a website to be used almost like a frame that really highlights the beauty of their products.

They want it to be really simple to use so that people can easily find what they’re looking for but also discover new things in the shop.

The cool thing is, if you can get a little bit deeper into your customer persona, maybe you have it niched down to people who have clothing brands. So basically your customer is a millennial who has a very trendy clothing company and they want to get known and discovered by more people.

And now you know that what your customer values is a beautiful, minimal, yet trendy aesthetic paired with functionality and a modern design. The point is to get the customers that they want on the website. And not just visit the website, but really falling in love with their products and buying something on the spot.

For the type of branding you would have in this case, would be the elements that are minimal and functional. You would have to showcase your understanding of what works in terms of trends and certain layouts that can really highlight products.

Your visuals would be very sweet and straight to the point. Definitely nothing too busy.

That means your copy could be very elegant, professional, and not too casual. It would include words that really speak to them about their small shops and who they are as a person.

Try it with your own target market

Do this exercise for your target market and find out what they’re really needing and how you can translate that into your branding.

If you haven’t seen my article on how to create your brand identity check it out right here.

There’s a lot to do if you haven’t looked too deep into your customers’ needs. But doing this the first time will really help you get there faster and qualify them through your branding. How great would that be? Once they get to your website, they’ll know if you’re talking to them.

That wraps it up for why branding is so necessary to get you the customers and audience you want.