The 5 Foundation Pillars Of A Successful Brand: By Branding Experts

The last few years have seen businesses strive and focus more on branding-related aspects. This is a significant shift from a stage where the businesses’ products and services were boosted through marketing and advertising. 

With the coming of the digital age, brands realized that new-age platforms can help give their business an individual personality. They started realizing that establishing an emotional connection with a mere product or service was difficult. Doing that with a business was easier. 

The representation of what a business stood for, its culture, values, and story were far more endearing for customers in the digital age. In this resource article, we take help from one of the leading names in the branding ecosystem, Bennet Schwartz. 

We request him to list down brand pillars that can help businesses get a sense of direction as far as their branding is concerned. If you are a business looking to set in place branding strategies, this article will add to your information and knowledge. 

Branding and Brand Promise: What you need to know

First things first. Businesses need to understand what being a ‘brand’ is all about. For a business, what they are in the ‘brand’. What they represent, what are the unique attributes that set them apart are all brand considerations. 

You might not know it yet, but everything that you do has already is your brand representation. The thing is, how you publicize the same is what helps in positive or negative branding. This means both tangible and non-tangible elements of your business are branding. 

Businesses need to realize that whenever they are selling (either B2C or B2B) they need to adhere to a Brand Promise. According to Schwartz, the following is what a Brand Promise is all about- 

• Attributes of the brand
• Propositions that make the brand attractive
• Expectations that consumers have
• Trust in products and services
• Creating loyalty and repeat sales

A successful branding exercise helps you with Brand Promise. Over a period, if you can build a consistent brand promise, you will see everything from your recognition to sales improving. 

List of 5 Foundation Pillars of a Successful Brand: By Bennet Schwartz

The Brand Culture

Every brand needs to ask themselves who they are, where have they come from, and what values do, they believe in. Everything from the behavior of your employees (internally) to how you treat your customers is a reflection of your brand culture. This is one of the key markers of differentiation that will help your brand stand apart from its competitors. 

The Brand Story

There is a reason why everyone loves the story of how Lamborghini started. It is aspirational, born out of a fight with Ferrari, and relatable to audiences. By having a compelling brand story, you can make your brand come across as a hero. People love emotions and want to relate to a brand by identifying with their own story. The better the brand story, the higher is the attraction. 

The Brand Service

This is the offering in the form of products or services that customers are availing from you. A business needs to make sure that the products are of high quality, have been priced well, and offer a great value proposition. Ultimately, it is the quality of the products and the experience of owning them if that will help keep your brand alive. Without this, nothing will work out. 

The Brand Experience

Do customers start feeling special the moment they walk into your showroom or visit your website/app? Successful branding is all about the experience customers have every time they interact with your brand. This is something that holds true for both offline as well as online platforms. Brands need to make sure that all touchpoints are accounted for. 

The Brand Identity

When it comes to identity, everything from the brand’s logo, to its font, color schemes, advertising, and content play a major role. This needs to be identifiable, recognizable, and able to attract attention. Every time a customer sees your messaging on a hoarding or a social media ad, they should know that it is from your brand. This is important for branding. 

The Bottom Line

A brand needs to focus on the above-mentioned five pillars for branding success. Yes, you are not going to get overnight success. Branding is more a journey than a destination if Schwartz is to be believed. However, if you can execute your branding strategies successfully, you can expect everything from customer loyalty to increased revenues for your business.