Numerous businesses implement branding strategies to cultivate goodwill and positive perceptions within the market. Building a brand demands substantial effort as it profoundly influences a business's performance. Business owners strive for global recognition of their unique values and brand identity, and they achieve this by adopting branding strategies. These strategies aid in devising long-term plans geared toward gaining brand recognition and consumer preference. A strong reputation enables consumers to easily identify a business, significantly impacting the brand's performance in the market. Therefore, business owners must select an appropriate strategy that aligns with their business type. In this blog post, we will explore the importance of branding and the top 10 branding tips that SMEs must implement to establish their brand identity in the UAE. Why branding is important Business branding plays a pivotal role for the majority of companies in the business industries of UAE. It directly impacts: Consumers:Brands offer a convenient way for consumers to make choices when deciding between similar products from different companies. This aids consumer decision-making and fosters brand loyalty. Employees, stakeholders, and third parties:Effective branding not only helps consumers distinguish products but also enhances a company's reputation, influencing various parties such as employees, investors, shareholders, suppliers, and distributors. A strong brand can attract talent and support business relationships. The company itself:Brands simplify repeat purchases and the introduction of new products since buyers are already familiar with the company's brands, increasing the likelihood of further purchases. Top branding tips 1. Develop excellent user-experience Branding is also exemplified by the user experience that companies aim to create. For example, McDonald's utilises its advertising to establish an image of a joyful destination where parents can bring their children and also as a place for a swift meal. It is, therefore, vital to create a distinct and gratifying experience that customers can enjoy when they partake in a product or service from a company, striving to closely associate it with the company's image. 2. Determine the business identity It's important to bear in mind that branding serves as the face of a business strategy. Each company possesses its own unique requirements, a set of corporate values, and a distinct approach to operations. Establishing a business identity involves crafting a unified "voice" that conveys the same message across all communications. A business's branding strategy provides an excellent means to imbue the company's vision throughout the organisation and engage everyone in the same direction. At this stage, business identity can be identified through a series of well-planned and well-executed marketing activities. Ensure that the final message remains completely consistent, clear, relevant to the target audience, as well as concise and easy to comprehend. 3. Employ evocative and coordinated visuals Visual content holds significant importance within a branding strategy. It is advisable to incorporate a cohesive set of images and illustrations to feature on the website, newsletters, social media, and online and offline advertisements. The selection and use of images aligned with the brand will enhance recognisability to the point where users can link content to the respective brand by simply looking at it. Another crucial aspect related to image usage is the creation of a customised, consistent, uniform style for all published content, such as consistent size, inclusion of text in the images adherence to specific fonts and sizes, colours, and more. 4. Engage stakeholders, employees, and customers The preferences and orientations of the target audience offer a valuable source of information for developing a corporate branding strategy. However, it's imperative to transform stakeholders, employees, and customers into genuine brand ambassadors, as word of mouth can significantly impact the overall brand image. The company's objective should be to foster a positive environment and relationships with stakeholders, aiming to impart the company's principles and philosophies to them, enabling them to subsequently share these elements with others. 5. Define the elements influencing your brand Your brand represents the personality of your company, and much like human personalities, it manifests itself in various ways. This diversity can be found in your logo, brand colours, graphic style, and tone of voice. Additionally, there are brand values that characterise your business approach and the thoughts, perceptions, and behaviours of you and your employees. The brand is versatile and subject to change over time, reflecting the individuals and personalities within the company. It may be beneficial to view your brand as a summarised description of your best self, rather than a rigid set of rules dictating who you should be at all times. 6. Consider your target audience Your brand serves a dual role, both internally and externally. Internally, it aligns corporate objectives, providing staff with a sense of connection and motivation. Externally, your brand influences how your business is perceived by your target audience. When developing a business plan, your company already knows the kind of people interested in your products, and they form a crucial part of your target audience. Once your target audience is defined, it's essential to direct all efforts, both in product development and marketing, towards the specific characteristics of this audience. 7. Link branding strategy with marketing Your marketing strategy and brand are interrelated, so it's advisable to develop them in tandem from the outset. Collaborating with your team, you'll need to decide which marketing channels to employ, such as social media, email, website, events, presentations, or content marketing, and how they fit into your business plans. Each of these channels will convey your brand and provide valuable insights into how your business is perceived by recipients. Marketing can influence how your brand is recognise in various ways, including design, communication frequency, topics covered in content marketing activities, and the tone of voice you adopt. 8. Differentiate your brand from competitors While your brand reflects your business identity and is inherently unique, certain industries tend to adopt common branding elements, including colours, fonts, illustrative styles, and tone of voice. This is not necessarily negative, but it's crucial to bear in mind as you make informed decisions. You must decide whether to follow industry branding trends or opt for a distinctive approach. 9. Conduct regular audits to maintain brand consistency After developing your brand and operating for a while, it's recommended to perform a brand audit every six months or annually. A brand audit is an internal process that allows you to assess the consistency of your brand, its alignment with your operational practices, and how it's perceived by your customers. It's essential to determine if your brand's positioning in the minds of consumers has changed and to make necessary adjustments. 10. Associate tangible benefits and emotions with your brand The ultimate objective of branding is to link your company with specific characteristics or emotions. A brand can have various associations, but they must remain consistent with each other. Quality branding also associates an emotion and fosters a sense of belonging. For example, Harley Davidson in the motorcycle market conveys a strong brand message, immediately evoking a sense of style, elegance, classicism, strength, and dynamism. Apple, the world's strongest brand, leverages on emotions - those who purchase Apple products are often seen as independent, minimalist, and effective professionals, aligning with the brand's image. Get started with RAKEZ With the branding tips for businesses mentioned above, you can commence the process of assembling the appropriate team for research, planning, and execution. Although constructing a brand may initially appear to be a demanding endeavour, it will prove to be a valuable investment of your time, energy, and resources in the long run. However, you don’t have to be worried about the registration of your business in the UAE as you work on building your brand. Establish your company and seek support for your branding needs from a single source! You can easily reach out to RAKEZ for a swift and hassle-free business setup in the UAE free zone and take advantage of MAZEED Services for your branding requirements. To get in touch, please call +971 7 204 1111 or send an email to info@rakez.com.
Numerous businesses implement branding strategies to cultivate goodwill and positive perceptions within the market. Building a brand demands substantial effort as it profoundly influences a business's performance. Business owners strive for global recognition of their unique values and brand identity, and they achieve this by adopting branding strategies.
These strategies aid in devising long-term plans geared toward gaining brand recognition and consumer preference. A strong reputation enables consumers to easily identify a business, significantly impacting the brand's performance in the market. Therefore, business owners must select an appropriate strategy that aligns with their business type.
In this blog post, we will explore the importance of branding and the top 10 branding tips that SMEs must implement to establish their brand identity in the UAE.
Business branding plays a pivotal role for the majority of companies in the business industries of UAE. It directly impacts:
1. Develop excellent user-experience
Branding is also exemplified by the user experience that companies aim to create. For example, McDonald's utilises its advertising to establish an image of a joyful destination where parents can bring their children and also as a place for a swift meal. It is, therefore, vital to create a distinct and gratifying experience that customers can enjoy when they partake in a product or service from a company, striving to closely associate it with the company's image.
2. Determine the business identity
It's important to bear in mind that branding serves as the face of a business strategy. Each company possesses its own unique requirements, a set of corporate values, and a distinct approach to operations. Establishing a business identity involves crafting a unified "voice" that conveys the same message across all communications.
A business's branding strategy provides an excellent means to imbue the company's vision throughout the organisation and engage everyone in the same direction. At this stage, business identity can be identified through a series of well-planned and well-executed marketing activities. Ensure that the final message remains completely consistent, clear, relevant to the target audience, as well as concise and easy to comprehend.
3. Employ evocative and coordinated visuals
Visual content holds significant importance within a branding strategy. It is advisable to incorporate a cohesive set of images and illustrations to feature on the website, newsletters, social media, and online and offline advertisements. The selection and use of images aligned with the brand will enhance recognisability to the point where users can link content to the respective brand by simply looking at it.
Another crucial aspect related to image usage is the creation of a customised, consistent, uniform style for all published content, such as consistent size, inclusion of text in the images adherence to specific fonts and sizes, colours, and more.
4. Engage stakeholders, employees, and customers
The preferences and orientations of the target audience offer a valuable source of information for developing a corporate branding strategy. However, it's imperative to transform stakeholders, employees, and customers into genuine brand ambassadors, as word of mouth can significantly impact the overall brand image. The company's objective should be to foster a positive environment and relationships with stakeholders, aiming to impart the company's principles and philosophies to them, enabling them to subsequently share these elements with others.
5. Define the elements influencing your brand
Your brand represents the personality of your company, and much like human personalities, it manifests itself in various ways. This diversity can be found in your logo, brand colours, graphic style, and tone of voice. Additionally, there are brand values that characterise your business approach and the thoughts, perceptions, and behaviours of you and your employees.
The brand is versatile and subject to change over time, reflecting the individuals and personalities within the company. It may be beneficial to view your brand as a summarised description of your best self, rather than a rigid set of rules dictating who you should be at all times.
6. Consider your target audience
Your brand serves a dual role, both internally and externally. Internally, it aligns corporate objectives, providing staff with a sense of connection and motivation. Externally, your brand influences how your business is perceived by your target audience.
When developing a business plan, your company already knows the kind of people interested in your products, and they form a crucial part of your target audience. Once your target audience is defined, it's essential to direct all efforts, both in product development and marketing, towards the specific characteristics of this audience.
7. Link branding strategy with marketing
Your marketing strategy and brand are interrelated, so it's advisable to develop them in tandem from the outset. Collaborating with your team, you'll need to decide which marketing channels to employ, such as social media, email, website, events, presentations, or content marketing, and how they fit into your business plans.
Each of these channels will convey your brand and provide valuable insights into how your business is perceived by recipients. Marketing can influence how your brand is recognise in various ways, including design, communication frequency, topics covered in content marketing activities, and the tone of voice you adopt.
8. Differentiate your brand from competitors
While your brand reflects your business identity and is inherently unique, certain industries tend to adopt common branding elements, including colours, fonts, illustrative styles, and tone of voice. This is not necessarily negative, but it's crucial to bear in mind as you make informed decisions. You must decide whether to follow industry branding trends or opt for a distinctive approach.
9. Conduct regular audits to maintain brand consistency
After developing your brand and operating for a while, it's recommended to perform a brand audit every six months or annually. A brand audit is an internal process that allows you to assess the consistency of your brand, its alignment with your operational practices, and how it's perceived by your customers. It's essential to determine if your brand's positioning in the minds of consumers has changed and to make necessary adjustments.
10. Associate tangible benefits and emotions with your brand
The ultimate objective of branding is to link your company with specific characteristics or emotions. A brand can have various associations, but they must remain consistent with each other. Quality branding also associates an emotion and fosters a sense of belonging.
For example, Harley Davidson in the motorcycle market conveys a strong brand message, immediately evoking a sense of style, elegance, classicism, strength, and dynamism. Apple, the world's strongest brand, leverages on emotions - those who purchase Apple products are often seen as independent, minimalist, and effective professionals, aligning with the brand's image.
With the branding tips for businesses mentioned above, you can commence the process of assembling the appropriate team for research, planning, and execution. Although constructing a brand may initially appear to be a demanding endeavour, it will prove to be a valuable investment of your time, energy, and resources in the long run.
However, you don’t have to be worried about the registration of your business in the UAE as you work on building your brand. Establish your company and seek support for your branding needs from a single source!
You can easily reach out to RAKEZ for a swift and hassle-free business setup in the UAE free zone and take advantage of MAZEED Services for your branding requirements. To get in touch, please call +971 7 204 1111 or send an email to info@rakez.com.
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