Introduction to Branding
# Questions answered in this module
What is branding?
Why is branding important even for early-stage companies?
What are some successful examples of branding?
How do companies define their brands?
No matter what product or service you sell, you also sell an experience—and ==branding is what creates this experience.== Think of this as ==the sum of all the touchpoints between your company and its customers.==
Consider how people share photos of their Starbucks drinks on social media. Starbucks doesn’t only sell coffee; it sells a trendy self-image. People order from Starbucks to project this identity, even if its coffee isn’t the best. In fact, in a blind taste test by Consumer Reports magazine, McDonald’s coffee beat Starbucks—but that doesn’t stop Starbucks from being the most popular coffee chain in the world.
Building a brand is ultimately about ==shaping perceptions of your company’s value.==
With a poor brand, customers won’t want any affiliation with your company. They might see your product as not being worth their money, or worse, a scam. But done well, good branding does the opposite—it makes your product desirable, with customers naturally spreading the word and even lining up for more from your business.
Our Five Fits Framework includes brand because it plays a crucial role in determining your ideal growth strategy as well as your overall growth potential. Brand guides how you convey your company to the world and much more, like:
- How you should build your product
- Which pricing model(s) are optimal
- Which growth channels you should (and shouldn’t) use
In other words, brand touches every aspect of your growth engine.
In this unit, we’ll explain why brand is a secret weapon for growth. You’ll learn about the key components of a successful brand strategy and how to define your own brand for stand-out results.