What is Branding and its importance for Indian Business?

India’s beauty and magnetism majorly recline in its entanglement or diverseness. The convolution of the Indian community also bestows to the shattered nature of its economy and market. From a brand design agencies perspective, developing a manifest brand in India, especially in urban cities like Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Lucknow, etc. requires the understanding of majorly two crucial factors: the scope of the brand and the applicability of the brand’s products or services to society.

Therefore, the strategies for developing branding for Indian business is very crucial as people require new prospective, replenish thinking, comprehensive approaches, and in-depth understanding of the elements that impact consumer requirements.

In this blog, let’s discuss in detail what branding is and the different elements of a good brand design that help achieve success for an Indian business.

What is Branding?

Before getting into the concept of branding, it is important that we need to understand what you mean by a brand.

A brand is a “name, design, phrase, symbol, or any other character that point out one companies goods or service as distinct from those of the other competitors”.

You can explain a brand as the value or perception people build in their mindset when considering particular products or services. However, brand build in the mind of the customers towards a specific company or its product. The longer the brand stays in the mind of the customer better the brand recall value and sales.

A product can get copied from other competitors in a market, but a brand will always remain unique. For example, Lays and Bingo have almost all the elements in common and have similar tastes; however, some are more connected to Lays, others to Bingo.

So, we understand what a brand is; now, let’s get in detail what do you mean by branding:

According to Kotler & Keller, “A branding can be defined as a furnishing of products and services with the potentiality of a brand”.

In general, Branding is the process of giving a meaning to a specific company, products or services by creating and shaping a brand in consumers’ minds.

Also Read: Why and How to Register Business Logo Design?

Why is Branding Important for Indian Business?

Most companies consider branding not essential for entrenched organizations and believe it is more critical for new entrants. Though they don’t require much branding, it is needed to keep off competition or assess new market opportunities.

Now let’s discuss the core points of why branding is essential for a business:

1. Branding promotes recognition:

Consumers prefer to buy products from those organizations they have a special connection with. If your branding is compatible and straightforward to recognize, it can help people buy your products or services.

2. A strong brand helps generate referrals:

If they like a company’s service, most consumers will definitely refer it to their friends or other companies. Even indirectly, people convey the referral to others with the things they wear, use, etc.

3. A strong brand provides your business value:

A solid brand will give value to your company more than your other physical assets. Think about your favorite brands; do you prefer these brands because of their wealth; it’s because of the value they created in the market.

4. Strong branding can help you connect with your customers emotionally:

Good branding can always connect with their consumers, and they purchase your product when they feel good. It is one of the ultimate brand equity a brand can achieve as a goal.

What are the important elements of branding?

Now let’s discuss some of the important elements of branding:

1. Brand Name:

One of the most essential and decisive elements of a brand is the brand naming. Your brand name needs to define your entire brand in one or two words. It provides customers with the perception of who you are; also, it’s the first or primary impression they get registered of your brand.

However, creating an exact brand name is not an easy task; it requires a lot of research and effort. There are different elements to consider, like the message you convey, proper alignment, availability of the name, etc.

2. Brand Identity:

I. Logo:

A logo is a visual trademark that can feasibly be considered the second most prominent element. A logo must be more discernible than the brand name, as images are often more accessible to communicate than words.

II. Font styling:

Similar to your brand name and logo, font selection is also an essential element of branding—your font or typography palette assists in binding all communications together, creating brand consistency and fame.

III. Taglines:

Most organizations put ghastly pressure on their taglines. They provide them with enormous significance. However, in reality, most of them fail to engage the customer’s attention. So, while creating a tagline, ensure that you convey the proper meaning of your brand.

IV. Brand Color and Elements:

Color is a vital element in branding and marketing as it is where primary or initial impressions of consumers are based. Indeed, color is one of the secrets in creating a good quality for a company. However, colors are more than an illustration as they convey feelings, emotions and occurrences.

V. Imagery:

Brand imagery is a hybrid combination of the images that give the feel of your company. Your users perceive something when they look at your imagery. The frequent consistency and disclosure will build trust over time. When customers buy products, they’re purchasing for what your brand stands for. Thus, it is vital to design your brand image to communicate what actually you want to deliver.

3. Brand Positioning:

A brand positioning expresses how a brand is different from its competitors and its perception in the consumer’s mindset. Therefore, a brand position strategy associates creating brand relationships in consumers’ minds to make them recognize the brand in a specific method.

However, a brand’s positioning has a direct influence on its branding. For example, an economical brand that focuses on communicating that they’re the most inexpensive choice might choose bright colors like orange or yellow also create a brand voice that’s friendly, simple and hopeful.

4. Brand Value:

By determining your principal or core values, you can define how your brand will be discerned in the market. It will empower you to lead communication and decision-making such that your brand remains consistent.

However, your brand values will showcase your business point of view to your consumers, suppliers, and the public. Similar to other components of brand strategy, your brand values lead your brand internally and guides decision-making.

5. Brand Voice:

It is vital to define your pitch to set guidelines for your desire to sound to your target audience. Showcasing a compelling voice is crucial to convey your brand message. Once you have originated your brand’s personality, the next level is to acclaim it with an appropriate tone of voice.

However, whatever voice is applicable for your brand, you must ensure that you use it constantly across all communication mediums. (source)

6. Brand Promise:

A brand promise is a value or occurrence a company’s users can anticipate acquiring every single time they interrelate with that company. The more an organization can remit on that promise, the powerful the brand value is in the mindset of employees and consumers.

The most prominent example is domino’s 30 minutes delivery promise; the company stated that once a user placed an order, they’ll deliver the pizza within 30 minutes to their destination; else, the consumer will get the food for free.

Better Branding is equal to Better Marketing

In earlier times, branding was just perceived as a name, logo, sign or a symbol, or the combination of all these characters. With time now, branding has become a more critical element in any of the brands.

Branding is not only about achieving your target market to select you over the competition. It’s also about obtaining your expectations to see you as the best solution for their challenges or needs.

As consumers start to identify with you, your brand will live in the minds of the consumers, clients, and give easy brand recall which further helps in marketing. Good branding will make them analyze:

– who you are

– why your brand is unique

– what you mainly have to offer.

In building a strategic marketing plan, your brand gives a guide to analyzing the primary goal of your crucial business objectives. It enables you to line up the plan with those objectives. Thus, branding is not only something that happens at the time of purchase – a proper brand experience has to give the ultimate customer loyalty.

Conclusion

To sum it up, solid branding has become an essential element for any Indian business as customers choose to buy products from companies that develop a strong trust and consistency in their overall services.

If you plan to start a new business or already exist in the market but do not have proper branding for your business, it’s a great time to start with it. Implementing powerful branding in your business can definitely help you reach your brand next level and get the best result in overall aspects.

If you still facing any challenges, you can connect with the LogoPeople team; they’ll get back to you, understand your queries and make your business successful in the market.

Author: Megha Malik

As a passionate entrepreneur and creative brand consultant with experience of 14 years in digital, branding and packaging industry, it is my honest effort to put my experiences and knowledge of industry towards readers. A chartered accountant by degree but a marketing personality in blood has motivated her to take in designing industry as a career. With her fun-loving personality and sharp branding skills, she is a great motivational speaker on her YouTube channel, an active member in various business channels offline as well as online. Do connect me personally via my LinkedIn and I love to share my expertise with you.