Image source: JuralMin
Successful entrepreneurs know that good branding is a vital factor in determining our success, but with so much advice and so many statistics on the topic, it’s not easy to figure out what’s actually important.
Branding is the way that we communicate with consumers, differentiate from our competitors, and create a name for ourselves in a world full of startups and great ideas. A brand is much more than the company’s logo or the product or service being offered. A brand is your company in the present, future, and perceptions of the public. Essentially, branding is about communication.
Startups and small businesses communicate through their names, logos, and messaging. It’s becoming increasingly important to have a strong brand (for example, there are over 30 million small businesses on Facebook alone), a recognizable name, and a logo that rises above the rest. This is one reason why so many companies regularly rebrand their businesses.
With all that in mind, we collected 2o important insights on branding that every entrepreneur and marketer should know.
1. 78% of consumers believe that companies focused on custom content are more trustworthy than companies who simply churn out generic content. When companies create custom content, their audience is more likely to believe that the company cares about the consumer’s time.
2. Companies that have blogs generate 67% more leads per month than companies who don’t have blogs- and companies have noticed. Blogs account for 434% more of indexed pages on Google.
3. In the last 3 years, email rates on mobile devices have increased by 180%, pushing companies to focus more on creating mobile-friendly email campaigns and newsletters.
4. Marketing messages reach 561% more people when shared by employees rather than by the brand itself. This is because people are more likely to trust other people, rather than a faceless company.
5. 70-80% of consumers ignore ads on the sides of websites or search results- regardless of the search engine they are using. Often, they find those ads to be less trustworthy.
6. 84% of people purchase a product because of a referral– even if they didn’t directly know the person. Recommendations are extremely important, which is why consumers turn to Yelp or Amazon for reviews and ratings. Nobody wants to pay for a 1 star product or service.
7. 90% of consumers expect that their experience with a brand will be similar across all platforms and devices. They expect a seamless transition between web and device-native applications through color, flow, and overall quality.
8. First impressions are incredibly important to develop loyalty; 48% of consumers report that they are more likely to become loyal to a brand during the first purchase or experience.
9. The right color can improve readership by 40% by making messaging easier to read and more visually appealing. Color is one of the first things our brains perceive from a brand, so it’s often the first thing that pulls us in.
10. 91% of consumers said that they are more likely to buy from an authentic brand than from a dishonest brand. But, it’s still important to understand what your specific target demographic values as honesty, because this perception changes between generations.
11. Recognition equals value: out of 40 million images posted to Instagram every day, over 10,000 of them are of the Starbucks logo- and for the most part, not on purpose.
12. It only takes consumers 10 seconds to form a first impression of a brand’s logo, but it takes 5-7 impressions for consumers to recognize the logo.
13. Our brains process images 60,000 times faster than we process words. That’s why so many companies choose to include a glyph or visual in their logo.
14. Color is a huge factor of brand recognition. A signature color can increase brand recognition by 80% (like the Starbucks green).
15. 33% of the top 100 brands use the color blue in their logo. The color blue is said to relate to one on one communication and personalized messaging, which helps customers feel more personally connected to the logo.
16. 77% of consumers make purchases based on a brand name. We don’t really call Kleenex tissue, just like most people don’t say tablet- they say iPad. A great brand name will become synonymous with the product or the service.
17. 72% of the best brands are named with made up words or acronyms. While it’s important to stay away from anything too abstract, a name should create an original image in someone’s head.
18. In the age of Twitter handles, Facebook pages, and competitive URLs, picking a name is even trickier. 71% of consumers say that they are more likely to buy from a brand that they follow on social media– making it crucial to choose a name that is available across multiple platforms.
19. According to Reuters, 82% of investors believe that brand strength and name recognition are becoming more important in guiding them in their investment decisions.
20. Emotion is an important part of a name. 90% of all purchasing decisions are made subconsciously, making it vital for companies to choose names that evoke positive emotions.
Just like anything else, branding is a huge investment in your company, both financially and in sweat equity. By focusing on some of these statistics, entrepreneurs can be more informed when making key decisions that will affect the perception of their brand. Understanding consumers’ preferences with colors or even with their use of social channels can help entrepreneurs focus more on the channels with which their audience interacts.
We hope these insights help you to get started building your brand or motivate you to take a closer look at how you can improve your existing brand. It’s never too late to make an impact!
If you are ready to create a quality brand for your business that inspires trust and confidence in your brand , consider enlisting the help of crowdSPRING’s network of 200,000 creatives to give you great options. crowdSPRING’s Logo Design Service offers a step-by-step creative brief that helps you outline your company’s needs and allows you to select from over 100 entries on average.
