Branding Lets You Charge What You’re Worth

Do you find that you’re not able to charge what you're worth? Do you notice that people don’t really connect with your story and aren’t able to easily see why you’re better than the competition and worth the extra spend? Do you worry about raising prices? Branding may be the answer you've been searching for.

While there are other business ramifications that surround the questions above, we’ve found that branding is a key factor in setting up your business in a manner that allows you to charge what you’re worth.

This can be seen easily in real-world examples. Take Starbucks, for example. The Starbucks brand, and everything it entails, allows the company to charge over $5 for a coffee drink. And people flock to get their hands on these drinks on the daily (present company included). It doesn’t seem like anyone ever questions the cost.

So, how can branding let you charge what you’re worth? Stick with me as we talk through branding and how it plays a part.

First off, at the core, businesses are built on how able they are to relate to their customers. The company’s brand is the conduit that allows this connection to happen.

So, just make sure you’ve got a good logo and website and people will connect, right? Not quite. Let's explore.

What is Branding, Really?

Branding is the perception that people have in their minds about your business. It’s not your business logo, it’s not your business website, it’s not your nicely designed brochure — it is what people think about your business.

How you interact and relate to your customers in every capacity contributes to your “brand”. And much of the interaction you’ll have happens even before your customer becomes your customer. So, kind business-owner who is worried about whether you can really afford to charge what you’re worth, ask yourself this:

Now, consider: Does the brand support you’ve circulated for public consumption reinforce the idea that you’re worth spending more for?

Take Exhibit A, for example. The Conner logo before shows a mark that doesn’t convey any meaning and fails to indicate a solid, custom feel. It doesn’t tell you that this is a family-owned, local business that has been around for more than 40 years. And it doesn’t convey the fact that the company is professional, multi-talented (beyond aluminum and remodeling), and bold.

Similarly, the existing Conner website was cookie-cutter and confusing. It didn’t provide a proper path for the user to learn about key services or to understand the quality of the workmanship.

So, as a potential customer interacted with the existing Conner brand support, they weren’t getting an accurate picture of the company and the fact that working with Conner would be worth spending a little extra.

As we created a new brand for the business, we found that the company was able to better communicate their value to customers and reflect that value in their pricing.

You see, your branding and brand support creates an image of your business in the minds of consumers. And that image dictates to the consumer what they’re willing to pay to enroll in whatever it is that you’re offering.

[Whether that image is aligned with who you truly are is up for debate. And it’s only when you’ve invested in creating foundational branding that properly aligns with your core values that you can attempt to control that perception.

We wrote a pretty informational and widely read piece on what branding really means, and if your interest is piqued and you want to dive deeper, we’ll link to the article further down in this blog.]

Ok, so now that you know what branding really is, how can branding help you charge what you’re worth?

Branding Starts Your Story, Which Makes You More Meaningful

The human brain is hardwired to respond to stories.

And your business has a story to tell to its customers. You know why you’re who you are and why you do what you do. You can probably tell us why you’re better than the competition. If not, stop now and pop over to this post.

But, do your customers and clients know? Many times, even after reviewing the existing branding as a potential customer or client would, even we found it difficult to pick out our client’s true differentiators. So, you can bet your bottom dollar that in these cases, the public is clueless as well.

Now, let's just add that just because the story isn't coming out in the brand support, doesn't mean it's not there. Often, we walk away from discovery sessions with our clients with our minds blown. We gain so much respect for our clients after hearing their stories for the first time.

Branding, when done properly, provides you with a platform to communicate your story. When you brand your business, you are beginning to tell customers something about it. You are beginning to say who you are and what you stand for.

So, how do you begin to create your story? This is done through the establishment of your Foundational Branding, the development of a meaningful logo design, and the creation of brand support that takes a strategic approach and aligns clearly with the Foundational Branding. The resulting image is a visual and verbal representation of your story.

Additionally, having your brand firmly in place provides your employees with a solid story to tell as they interact with customers and clients. This results in a better customer or client experience as the brand personality will permeate every encounter. As a secondary result, your team will feel more comfortable acting as ambassadors of the brand.

Although businesses may think that they offer great experiences to their customers, on the flip side, customers don’t always think so. A Bain and Company study found out that although 80 percent of companies say they offer superior experiences, only 8 percent of customers agree. Yikes!

Companies often don’t get it right when it comes to understanding what their customers feel and how their customers perceive them.

Branding Conveys a Sense of Professionalism That People Will Pay More For

For a business to create a positive perception in the minds of its consumers, it needs to be professional. Every facet of the business should display professionalism.

In our increasingly visual society, people are expecting everything they encounter related to a business to be packaged up nicely and tied with a bow. This includes both visuals and verbiage, as well as the medium you select to deliver your message. Every misstep or disconnect that occurs erodes the perception of professionalism and lets distrust creep in.

When a customer is able to 100% trust that you’re completely capable of carrying out the project or service you’re offering in a manner that’s flawless, they’ll pay more.

And when your own company’s brand support is on-point, those who view that support will get the sense that you know what you’re doing.

So, it's important to note that through your key branding elements and every part of your collateral, you convey the professionalism of your business (or lack thereof) to consumers. And, it goes without saying that a professional business can certainly charge what they’re worth.

Branding Sets You Apart From Lower Cost Competitors

Commodity items are differentiated only by price. So, the lowest price get’s the sale. The opposite of a commodity is something that’s differentiated in aspects unrelated to cost.

Having a well-branded business with visuals and verbiage that align with each other and company values will 100% differentiate you. And this will automatically give you a leg up on the competition.

Just looking around the marketplace, you can easily see that there are businesses that haven’t invested in positioning themselves through branding. There are typically the companies that are offering bargain-basement pricing. The businesses that have their brand in order are usually able to compete for larger projects and bigger payouts.

We've worked with our clients to align their brand to better convey a higher-end position in the market. And we've watched them grow as a result.

You see, once again, a well-created brand is one that possesses an emotional pull. Branding brings the attention of customers to your company. It sets you apart and draws the eye, engages the mind, and calls people to action. In your everyday life, you’ll notice that you’re instantly pulled toward products with a well-designed logo or services that have a website that’s intuitive and simple to navigate. This is all part of the branding process.

Sidenote: Your success in branding your business by and large depends on how well you can understand your customers — how they behave, who they are, their attributes, and their needs. Your ability to respond to the needs of your customer will ensure that your brand remains relevant, allowing you to continue to engage with consumers. If you misunderstand what’s important to your customers, you can invest in your branding all day long, but you will still miss the mark.

Just to be clear here, if your branding is based on a foundation of positioning, attributes, and visual direction that resonates with your target market, you’ll be positioned (pardon the pun) to differentiate.
And that my friends, is one way that branding allows you to charge what you’re worth.

Branding Makes You More Memorable, Which Keeps You Top-of-Mind

Finally, branding makes your business memorable. Whenever a customer wants to purchase a product or service, they will consider your company because you’ve invested in elements that are staying top-of-mind with consumers.

Since you’re top-of-mind, when a need arises, customers will immediately recall your business. And this pull will reduce the need for customers to search out the lowest price. Instead, they will reach out to you because you’ve established yourself as the leader in your field, and one that is professional and a cut above the competition.

So, Can You Charge What You’re Worth?

After reading this article, do you think that you’re currently charging what you’re worth? Do you feel like there’s room to improve your branding to garner more profits for your business?

Effectively brand your business today so that you can stand out of the crowd, create engagement with customers, drive more sales, and foster growth.

If you’re ready to start the journey to leveraging branding to charge what you’re worth, contact Nice Branding Agency today!