If you have ever made a choice between two similar products (like Nike vs Adidas or Ford vs Toyota), odds are you’ve encountered their branding and it helped effect your purchase. For every business, branding is crucial to developing a strong marketing plan and helping the company to grow. If you have a business or plan to start one, this article will cover some of the basics of branding and why it’s so important for your organization.

Branding is defined by the American Marketing Association as a “name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers.” But a brand is so much more than this. A strong brand in truth is the personification of a company, the gut feeling a person gets about a product, service or organization.

Let’s look at an example… how about Apple? What adjectives or feelings come to mind when you think of this organization. The most frequent words associated with Apple are innovative, advanced, cutting edge, cool. You can see how this helps to give them an advantage over their competitors. Apple doesn’t necessarily have to be better to get more business – they just need to continue to project this brand, this personification of their company, and people will continue to spend oodles of money on their products.

So how do you create a solid brand? Well it’s a combination of things like the business or product name, a logo, marketing materials and developing a consistent look in your marketing pieces, your packaging, how you present yourself, even how you dress. Every way potential clients can interact with your business is an opportunity to develop your brand. A strong brand will also help you attract the right clients, which in turn will help you create a strong brand and grow your business.

As a photographer, I use branding to help convey the type of photographer I am, what I like to shoot, and who I am. As an artist my brand is me! I spent a great deal of time coming up with my business name and logo and then used that to build my overall look. I shoot natural light and have a love of all things rustic and vintage. So to convey this, I use very simplistic designs and try to convey that simple, timeless and vintage look in my imagery, packaging and marketing pieces. By doing this, I am able to attract my ideal clients and establish myself as a unique photographer in the community.

As you can see, the key to creating a thriving business starts with developing a strong brand. Whether it’s through your business name, logo, products or perceived identity in the community, your brand will help define your company and enable you to reach greater heights. The devil is in the details. So take a few minutes, sit down and really think about who you are, how you want your company to be viewed and find new and interesting ways to convey that to your clients.