In the business branding world, there is a famous saying: “People do business with those they know, like and trust.” We live in a world where it is hard to trust someone because of many factors. If you think that is a lie, then consider the following questions.

• Will you give a thousand dollars to a stranger to keep for you?
• Will you handover the pin to your safe to someone you don’t trust?
• Are you going to appoint someone to be in charge of your financial department whom you don’t trust?
• Will you consider doing business with a faceless organisation or company?

Obviously, you will not contemplate about it for a moment.

If that is true, why do you think people should do business with a company without a “personality” or an identity? Regrettably, most brands don’t have a personality; they are mechanical in their operation, distant with no clear identity.

Building a reliable Business Brand

Funny enough, without an identity as a brand, your existence is questionable. Perhaps, your brand communication is clinical; you are proper and prime in whatever you do; you say the right things always, but your results show otherwise.

Your business branding is suffering; you consistently struggle to connect with your audience or build a meaningful relationship with your target audience. The painful part is to see your brand dwindling as the day goes by.

There are a lot of things that could go wrong; however, the truth is something is the problem. Nevertheless, once a brand loses that element of “humanity” or “personality,” people will hardly like, follow, engage, and connect with such brand. Furthermore, the likelihood of such persons to do business with you becomes slim.

Your business is indeed a corporate entity; despite this, it needs to deliberately have the likeable and distinctive personality in terms of brand tone, voice, and character that resonates with its target audience. What this means is that for any brand to genuinely connect with its target audience and influence their behaviour, it has to exhibit a personality or humanize its brand.

Business branding is an essential part of building your audience and your business in turn. Remember, people do business with those they can trust. In this article, you will learn simple but effective tricks on how to give your brand a personality or humanize your brand.

What is business branding?

Business branding is simply a way of identifying your business; it is how your customers see and experience your business. You brand your business to make it unique from those in your industry, which is why we have different logos, staff uniforms, business cards, colour etc.

Your business brand must reflect what your business stands for and what distinguishes it from your competitors. It should express your strengths, qualities, and most importantly, the personality aspect of your business.

Your business branding should begin during the planning stages of your business – launching a business with a strong brand improves your chance of success

Why business branding for your business?

There are a lot of reasons to consider branding your business if you haven’t started. Here are a few reasons to do that.

• It creates trust in your brand
• business branding helps improve your recognition
• It builds your financial value
• Branding generates new customers or leads
• It inspires your employees

Tips on Business Branding

If you were giving reasons why you should attend a function with the President of your country without any information on how to do it, you might get things messed up. Now you know why you need to brand your business, but how do you intend to do that. It’s like giving a child a spoon with an empty plate to eat. The reasons for business branding isn’t complete if you don’t know how to do it.

Build Relationship instead of “Salelationship”

In a world that is rapidly changing, our communication is always evolving. Do you remember when we use to write messages or letters on paper? For most people that seem old-fashioned; however, to connect at a meaningful and more in-depth level with your audience, your brand needs to build a relationship instead of “Salelationship.”

What is Salelationship?

“Salelationship” is all about building a relationship that focuses on selling a product to your target audience; it is not concerned with knowing what the audience wants or needs. It is one reason most businesses don’t convert because they have no interest in what the customers like. All they care about is sales and leads.

However, you’ve got to build relationships with them; see they like a person. Every individual wants to be loved, talked to, and appreciated. See the physical and psychological part of their lives and relate to them in such level.

Here is a potential customer who has always had the idea that having one’s business online is not his “thing.” Such a person has formed this mental block, and if you go with the salelationship attitude, you won’t get anything of him. However, if you build a relationship and explain why his business has to be online and address his fears, the likelihood of such an individual to become a customer is high.

What to do

In building that relationship, you have to shift from traditional advertising and email blasts, which hardly give or trigger any conversion.

It’s time to start shifting focus from things like email blasts and traditional advertising that barely trigger or give room for conversations. Let your brand have that sense of a corporate engine to your audience; build a relationship that respects their feedback.

Today, relationships are the lifeblood of the vibrant social network technology – everything is built on relationship. Therefore, why focus on Salelationship when you can use a relationship to build Salelationship.

As you try to build that relationship, never lose sight of your business branding. Converse, interact, engage, connect, and build a quality relationship with your audience as you would if it were someone you loved or valued.

Give a face to your brand or business

Imagine a person talking to you without having a face. It feels awkward and abnormal. In the same manner, people communicate with people they can relate with. Your prospects and customers will trust and value your business better if they can relate to you. They will naturally trust and value your relationship.

Giving your business a face is like giving life to a “doll,” such that it can talk, walk, and do what other human beings can do. If you have a website, you can start by adding a team page that includes those behind the business or brand. Let every member of the team have their designated position boldly written for customers to see. Here are some significant reasons you need to give a face to your business:

• It removes any element of doubt and shows your customers those behind the brand
• Branding authenticates your brand story whenever someone comes across your business
• It distinguishes your brand from others without an identity or a brand image

Speak the language your customers’ understand

Corporate writing comes with a certain kind of humdrum feeling. It is understandable that in business branding, your writing should be in a corporate format; however, you need to draw the battle line. Corporate writing lacks excitement and boring.

If there is any shortcut to giving your business a good personality, it is by ditching the mumbo jumbo style of conventional brand communication method. Ditch it for a free-flowing and straightforward language that your customers can relate.

Consider use words, rhythm and tones that your audience can resonate with and respond. Talk to them like you would talk to your friend. However, you should know when to draw the line.

When next you think of writing content or copy, keep in mind you are talking to a friend who is interested in buying or engaging your services. Relate to them on a personal level; make your content understandable and straightforward.

Don’t sell, TELL STORIES

Stories have a unique way of building connections and influencing social behaviour of people. Tell stories that can resonate with your audience. The process of giving your brand a personality is all about making your audience see your business as a relatable and likeable person instead of “business.”

Give your business a lighter side with a personality. Your lighter side should include your success and failures as a brand. Doing this will pique your readers’ interest in your brand.

Use various content format

You have to understand your audience and use the best content format that speaks to them. However, video content is an effective way to not only capture but also retain the attention of your audience.

Use this as an advantage to your brand; add short, entertaining, and relevant videos to your content; you can do that on your website pages and social media posts. Additionally, you can put them wherever your brand name and logo appears to complement whatever message you want to be passed across.

Have a Plan to business Branding

Giving your brand a personality is a daunting task, which requires adequate planning. You can take any rash decision in this process because it will affect your business. Furthermore, you need to set objectives and goals for both short and long-term purposes.

We understand the place of planning is never an easy one, which is why you should employ a skilled and dedicated social media manager to brand your business. You can walk closely with the team to ensure that depict what your brand stands for.

Nevertheless, they have to exhibit qualities such as problem-solvers, passionate, creative, and ability to build an exciting conversation that builds your reputation. At the end of it, your brand’s relationship with your target audience both online and offline is all that matters.