DAWN Aug-Sept Edition

Page 28

Business

These 5 Branding Factors Will Take Your Business to the Next Level By Dillon Kivo THE IMPORTANCE OF BRANDING in business is undeniable. No matter what industry you are in, there will always be someone who offers the same product or service that you do. What sets your offering apart is the brand attached to it. Building a brand takes time and a lot of effort, but any business or entrepreneur who takes the brand-building process to heart will experience more success. But we need to realize that branding is more than just a logo. It’s about the experience as a whole. That includes the visual and tangible, and even the intangible aspects of your business experience. Unfortunately, many business owners today neglect some of the most non-negotiable aspects of brandbuilding. When we know what these factors are and address them well, they can bring a lot of value to our business — recognition, influence and even profit. Here are five branding factors that many businesses ignore and how we can start paying more attention to them.

1. Your value proposition What does your business sell? The chances are that if you’re a coffee shop, you might answer coffee. If you’re an author, you might say books. But people don’t simply buy the products you sell. They buy the value they get out of it. Anyone can drink coffee in any coffee shop, but only Starbucks customers get a sense of community and comfort. Any author can sell a book, but only Tony Robbins can sell life transformation in the way he does. Discover what value and benefits your product gives people and communicate that.

l question ti we need d to t answer is i when h people l only talk about our level of customer service, will it build or destroy our reputation?

3. Personality Lastly, a brand needs to have a personality, and it has to be authentic: 8% of consumers say that authenticity is important when deciding what brand they’ll use. Create a personal brand that embodies the entrepreneur or the company culture, and communicate that.

4. Impact Another successful way to build a brand is to share impact stories. In line with the previous point, people love speaking about experiences. And when people have good experiences and share them, that can provide your company with vital social proofing. Ask happy clients to leave reviews on sites like Google Reviews, LinkedIn or TrustPilot, and post those testimonials on your website and social-media accounts.

5. Your audience’s story

A fundamental understanding of branding will tell you that a brand is a bridge between an offer and an audience. People will gravitate toward brands that they can relate to, and one effective way to make that happen is to tell your audience’s story. Let them know that you understand their struggles, dreams and desires. Think about how Nike uses ads that connect with people’s limitations, such as disability, and turn them into an inspirational message. Those stories connect and deliver so 2. Customer service much value to an audience, building the brand Studies indicate that 73% of consumers love a experience immensely. brand because of helpful customer service. That www.entrepreneur.com/article/374928 means that a company with good customer service does a lot to uplift its brand. People love Image credit: 5WPR / 5W PR to talk about their experiences with a brand. The 28

July-August 2021

DAWN

www.africabusinessassociation.org


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The Portuguese Colonization of Cape Verde

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pages 104-107

What Western Appraisals of Kenneth Kaunda Left Out

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Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo Caps Extraordinary Postseason as NBA Finals MVP

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From Thatched Huts to Wakanda, a Massive New Architectural Guide Explores Sub- Saharan Africa

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Senegal is Preserving its Oral History in a Podcast

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Africa is Blasting its way into the Space Race

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NASA Seeks Proposals for Commercial Space Station Development

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Glowing Bacteria May One Day Protect People From Landmines

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Reuters' Hot List of Climate Scientists is Geographically Skewed - Why This Matters

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Sundar Pichai Surprises Winner of Doodle for Google Contest with a Video Call

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The Triumph of the Electric Motor

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SpaceX President says Starlink Global Satellite Broadbrand Service to be Live by September

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Launch of the Mediacity Mauritius Hub in Africa

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Seven African Start-ups Shaking up the Global Tech Ecosystem

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African Tech Startups Funding Report 2020 Full Startup List

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President Samia Gives Cryptocurrency Markets a Boost, as Bitcoin Closes on $40,000

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How to Attract Private Finance to Africa’s Development

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South Africa Opens up to Private Power to Ease Blackouts

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Quartz: All You Need to Know About Africa's Four (Six?) Unicorns

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How Africa Could Become a World Leader in Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC)

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African Stock Exchange/Bourse

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Jamaica Plans to Petition Queen for 'Overdue' Reparations for Caribbean

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News Bits

2min
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Digital Africa: Leveling Up through Governance and Trade

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After Economic Sanctions Crippled Mali, the AU and EU are Trying a New Tack

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Covid-19’s Third Wave Dashes Hope of Tourism Revival in East Africa

5min
pages 52-53

I.M.F. Presents Plan to Help Poor Countries During Pandemic

3min
pages 50-51

EU’s New Vaccine Passport Scheme

1min
page 49

Kenya gets $750 Million World Bank Loan to Help Recovery from COVID-19 Eff ects

1min
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Biden to Send 500 Million Doses of Pfi zer Vaccine to 100 Countries Over a Year

7min
pages 45-47

South Africa's President Ramaphosa Urges G7 Nations to Plug COVID-19 Funding Gap

1min
page 44

Ghana Fights Deforestation by Planting 5 Million Trees in 1 Day

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Philanthropist Mo Ibrahim Tells Countries to 'Walk the Talk' in Supplying Africa COVID Vaccines

3min
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Big Irrigation Projects in Africa Have Failed to Deliver. What’s Needed Next

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It’s Time for International Development in Africa to be Decolonized

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Regenerative Ocean Farming: The (Least Deadliest Catch

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Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows Program deadline October 1, 2021

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Nigeria’s Comic Republic Signs Production Deal “To Bring African Superheroes to the World” (Exclusive)

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These 5 Branding Factors Will Take Your Business to the Next Level

2min
page 28

Publisher's Message

4min
pages 4-7
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