In a competitive market, a great brand and website is your voice, calling out to customers, rising above the competing noise to be heard loud and clear. They are integral to any business wanting to establish itself and grow; in fact, getting it right from the start can have long term implications for future success.

Why does brand matter to customers, and to your business?

Your brand isn't just a logo and a product, it's what your customers feel and experience when they interact with your business or even think about it - it's your whole reputation on the market.

Buying can largely be an emotional experience, so your brand plays a key part in your target audience's decision-making process around whether to buy from you or not.

A good brand is also valuable for your business:

• It defines a clear set of core values and benefits, creating customer connection and loyalty.
• A brand builds a consistent message to make your business more recognisable to the public.
• It distinguishes your business from others, giving you a competitive edge with customers who prefer to buy from a brand they know and trust.
• It makes it easier for your established brand to introduce new products to loyal customers.
• It enables a business to define a target audience and speak to it, which means your audience will recognise themselves in your messaging and will want to connect.
• Loyal customers will want to support your brand by giving useful feedback to help evolve products and deliver enhancements that they will value.
• Loyal customers help you with word-of-mouth marketing; customers acting as your marketers are the most effective way of marketing.

How to build a great brand

Knowing why branding matters, and how you want your business to be seen, is a good start. However, you can't build a solid reputation out of hot air. Businesses must live up to their set of values and ensure that the reality of the service and UX on offer lives up to their words.

When you understand how you want customers to think and feel at every touchpoint with your business, you can then start devising a strategy to define what your brand needs to communicate and how. From this basis, an identifiable visual identity can be designed, along with a narrative, style and channels of communication. This then informs your entire marketing strategy, connecting with your target audience, building momentum around your brand and by creating a community of loyal trusted brand advocates.

It is important to remember that building a brand isn't a once-only activity but a continual process that sees your brand evolve as your busienss, customers needs and marketplace change. Your brand may need to adapt in order to sustain and continue to grow your business, but you must retain a clear sense of your unique selling point (USP) and your mission so customers can see that your core values remain constant.

What makes a great website?

A key component to any business branding and marketing strategy is its website. Not only is your website your 24/7 shop window, it's an important conveyer of your brand contributing to the look of your business but also to your customer's UX when doing business with you.

As with a brand, the first step to building an effective website is to understand its purpose. Once clear on what your website needs to deliver for your business, it can be designed to deliver your objectives.

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