What is Branding?

Name: What is Branding?
Author: KnowledgeCity

Learn the basics of developing a brand identity.

Preview the first lesson free — get full access to all 4 lessons.

Course: On-Demand

(upbeat music) In these lessons, we'll consider the question. What is branding? We will go over the branding process, how to develop your brand identity and explore the ongoing processes of branding. At its most basic level, branding is a way to distinguish your product or service from the rest of the market and create a perceived value in the mind of potential customers. Whether you have a large company or a small startup business you wanna stand out in the marketplace, the keys to successful branding include knowing your target customers and making all of your decisions with a focus on what's important to them. A strong brand is invaluable because the battle for customers intensifies day by day. It's important to invest time in researching, defining and building your brand. Your company's brand is your promise to your customers. It tells them what they can expect from your products and services. And it differentiates you from your competitors. Your brand stems from who you are, who you want to be and who people perceive you to be. The branding process should declare the company's mission, vision, growth plan and values. Let's take a quick look at each of those aspects you should include in the branding process. First consider the company's mission. What is your company's reason for being? In short, a mission statement explains what your company does. This statement is focused on the here and now, the current situation. How is that different from the company's vision statement? The company's vision statement is more forward thinking. This statement is focused on what the company aspires to be in the future. Google's mission and vision statements are a great example for us to examine. Google's mission statement is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. This is a very pragmatic statement about organizing information and making it accessible. That is exactly what they do on a daily basis. Now let's look at their vision statement. To provide access to the world's information in one click. Their vision statement is more forward thinking. It explains their long term goal of providing access to all the information in the world with just one click. While both statements are similar they do have their differences. The mission statement keeps you focused during the day to day work your company does. And the vision statement ensures that you are looking to the future to help grow your company into more than it currently is. Thinking about what you want your company to be in the future is where the growth plan comes in. The company's growth plan is a detailed systematic method that explains clear goals of where you want your company to be. The growth plan also lays out specific steps and actions you will take to reach those goals. The mission statement clarifies what you are doing currently in your business. The vision statement reveals where you hope to take your business in the future. And the growth plan gives you the steps it's going to take to reach those goals. Before you can craft a mission statement, a vision statement, or a growth plan you have to know what your company's values are. Your company's values are essentially the beliefs, philosophies and principles that drive your company. What are the causes or motivations that are important to you? Do you primarily value the bottom line? Do you primarily value making a difference in the world? Whatever you value as a company is what will ultimately guide your mission statement, vision statement and your growth plan because your values will be the determining factor in what your company becomes and how your brand is perceived.

Beginner Provider : KnowledgeCity 4 Lessons · 13m in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Urdu, Chinese

Course Description

What does it mean to have a brand? How can a brand identity help your organization grow? At its most basic level, your brand distinguishes your product or service from its competitors in the mind of potential customers. Having a strong, consistent brand is key for business success.

In these lessons, you’ll learn the basics of establishing new a brand or reinventing an existing one through the branding process. You’ll learn how to identify and articulate your brand identity, both within your organization and for your external stakeholders and customers. You’ll discover both the initial steps of creating a brand, and the continuous process of maintaining your brand over an extended length of time. By the end of this course, you’ll understand how a robust brand image contributes to business success, and you will be able to develop a strong brand for your own organization.

What You'll Learn

Understand the purpose of a brand and how it distinguishes your product or service from competitors
Understand the branding process for establishing a new brand or reinventing an existing one
Develop a brand identity and articulate it within your organization and for external stakeholders and customers
Create a brand mission and vision statement
Apply the ongoing process of maintaining your brand over an extended length of time

Key Takeaways

At its most basic level, your brand distinguishes your product or service from its competitors in the mind of potential customers.
Having a strong, consistent brand is key for business success.
Branding involves both the initial steps of creating a brand and the continuous process of maintaining it over an extended length of time.
A robust brand image contributes to business success.
Your brand identity must be identified and articulated both within your organization and for your external stakeholders and customers.

Frequently Asked Questions

What will I be able to do after completing this course?

By the end of the course, you'll understand how a robust brand image contributes to business success, and you will be able to develop a strong brand for your own organization.

What topics does this course cover?

The course covers the branding process, what your brand identity is, and the ongoing process of branding, and includes a Test Your Knowledge lesson.

Is this course for new brands or existing ones?

It covers establishing a new brand as well as reinventing an existing one through the branding process.

What is a brand according to this course?

At its most basic level, your brand distinguishes your product or service from its competitors in the mind of potential customers.