How Branding Makes Your Company More Valuable
The brand of your company has intrinsic value in and of itself. Recently, technology company’s are finding that their brand value is surpassing the classic brand powerhouse, Coca Cola. When it comes to the highest brand value, who has the highest? … Google. With other technology and financial companies fighting for the rankings. When it comes time to sell your company, you may find that even proven profitability is not as important as the strength of your brand in determining the value of your company.
It may be argued that branding even drives revenues. Imagine McDonald’s without branding – all you would have left is cheap burgers. McDonalds’ brand is about clean, quick-service food for families. Their branding package consists of the McDonald’s name, Golden Arches, Happy Meals with a toy inside, on-site playgrounds for kids, the Big Mac, and Ronald McDonald. This simple package adds about 25 billion dollars to McDonald’s value as a company.
Now, how do you apply a branding package to your company? Start to think about what products you feature? What is your specialized line of business? What sets you apart from the other companies in the market? What characteristic of your company gives it a unique first and only? What keeps your customers engaged in your brand and committed to coming back? Once you have a grasp on your brand, you are able to see the value that it provides for your company.
How does branding actually improve the value of your company? There are three primary ways:
- Branding provides a permanent platform for ever increasing sales. At the very least, good branding consists of a branding promise, branding icons, and a thematic package consisting of an apathy killer and a kicker. These should be congruent with the values, character and culture of your company. So branding provides a backbone and a theme for your company. All marketing, advertising, and PR should stay “on brand”. Clever ad campaigns may come and go, but your brand lives on. Charismatic salespeople can come and go, but your brand lives on. You, the owner, or marketing director can come and go but your brand lives on.
- Branding provides compound interest. If your marketing efforts stay “on brand”, then you are cumulatively building up critical mass in the market until you reach the “tipping point” where your brand begins to pick up speed in a snowball effect that provides growth for your company.
- Branding makes your company more benefits-driven. Many times we finish a Branding Map for a client and they feel that it’s the very first time they understand what their company really does. The Branding Map establishes a focus that often requires the company to change what it is doing to better fit customer needs. We have gone so far as to change the company’s name – this is rare but the Branding Map makes the reason for major changes obvious.
Ideally, branding that is true, real, and easy to understand, will permeate the whole company generating value on all fronts.
Brand well and prosper!
Andy Cleary