The term “branding” comes from cattle ranching. Owners would brand each of their cows with a distinctive mark designating the animal as theirs, to help eliminate confusion should herds merge out on the prairie.
This idea of branding a product with a unique signifier stuck, and now branding refers to the characteristics that differentiate companies and products in every industry.
But branding is much larger than a logo or a website, and a branding agency is far more than just a design firm. Branding is a process that defines every element of a company’s identity. It helps determine how consumers interact with a business, and how they interpret those engagements. It creates alignment between internal and external messaging. In short, branding answers the question, “Who are we, how do we want to be seen, and how do customers see us?”
Branding is important because it impacts every other aspect of your business. It’s worth taking the time to do it right. A top branding company like San Francisco-based Ramotion can help in a number of different ways.
Branding Agencies Have a Deep Understanding of the Branding Process
Branding agencies have a holistic view of brand that other types of creative firms lack. They understand how your culture, values, logo, website, marketing collateral, social media messaging, brand promises, and customer perceptions all work together to determine who you are as a company.
A branding company knows how each of these factors affects the rest, and they can manipulate different aspects of your brand to create a more cohesive corporate identity that consumers can relate to and that better serves your business goals.
If you’re having trouble with unfavorable customer perceptions, or if aspects of your brand aren’t performing as well as they should, you need the insight only a branding firm can provide. They can strip a brand down to its most basic elements and then build it back up stronger, more cohesive, and more in line with customer expectations and the current competitive landscape.
A Branding Agency Creates an Emotional Connection
Your brand is a conversation you have with your customers on an ongoing basis. You share who you are with your customers and they respond with who they think you are and who they want you to be. Good branding helps you control this conversation. You want your brand story to be compelling so that your customers are excited to engage with you and become passionate champions.
Branding firms understand how this process can make an emotional connection with your audience. They work to align your brand with your customers’ true reasons for engaging with you, and the closer the two reflect each other, the more deeply your customers will become brand advocates. Branding agencies make your brand speak directly, and loudly to the people that want to hear what you have to say.
Top Branding Companies Create Brand Consistency
Branding is a delicate process, and the more you engage with your audience, the more fraught with challenges it can become. Once your customers think they know who you are, they expect you to remain that way. Customers crave consistency, and consistency creates trust.
Consider a trusted friend. They likely earned your trust by always being there for you and by being what you expected them to be. You know them well, and they know you.
People trust brands for the same reasons. They want to know that your quality will remain consistent. They want to know that you do what you say you’ll do. They want your messaging to be consistent no matter where they engage with you.
The reverse is very bad for business. If your branding in inconsistent and poorly executed your current and prospective customers can become confused as to what you believe and what you stand for. They may interpret brand vagueness as a lack of commitment. They may assume that if they can’t figure out what your brand is all about you likely don’t know yourself, and they’re unlikely to trust what you say.
Branding Agencies Differentiate You From Your Competition
Branding agencies don’t examine your brand in a vacuum. They consider the entirety of the market you operate within. They take a look at how your competition communicates with their customers and how their customers view you. They see how your brand fits into the competitive landscape and they determine the unique selling propositions you can leverage to stand out.
Differentiation is the most basic reason for branding’s existence. If your brand is too similar to a competitor, you’re often easily forgotten. If your brand identity exists too far outside of what the competition is doing, and outside of what most consumers expect from a company like yours, you can scare them off. Branding agencies are excellent at balancing these extremes, creating a brand that’s unique but approachable, aligned to customer expectations but just far enough outside to be enticing.
A Branding Agency Gets the Most Out of Your Brand
The old adage, “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” describes top branding companies perfectly. They offer a wide range of services. Under one roof you get a brand manager, a web design company, logo design agency, copywriting, social media management, digital brand engagement and more.
Hiring a branding agency brings all of these specialties to bear on your brand messaging. The confluence of these disparate elements, when rendered through a well-designed brand strategy, creates an identity that’s more potent than it would be otherwise. It creates a brand voice that speaks clearly to your target audience. It removes the possibility of misunderstandings and creates a powerful two-way conversation between your customers and you.
Proper branding is one of the most important things a company can invest in, and the money spent has a high ROI. If your customers truly understand who you are, and feel a deep connection, you’ll have an easy time retaining them, adding new customers, and building your business. A branding agency will make your brand as dynamic and as impactful as it can possibly be.
Kim Marks 
Nicola Holder