Curls Speak Louder Than Words: Why Branding Matters

First impressions are everything. Aren’t they? When you come across different clothing, makeup, shoe, or hair care brands in the mall what draws your attention to look at their items? Do you like what you see? Do you like the vibe and aesthetic of the items you are looking at? This is where branding takes the front line. 

Let’s Start At The Root

Brands need to be branded. This means that how a brand uploads itself will help its product sell. At face value, you want the first impression from all customers to be a good one. What's the brand's message? What is it selling? Who is the target audience? What is the purpose? These questions should be answered when you encounter a brand. For example, Victoria's Secret specializes in lingerie, sleepwear, beauty products, and women’s clothing. If you pass by the store and look at the display window in the front, you can get an idea of who they are marketing to and what the purpose of a clothing brand is. 

Define Your Brand Like You Define Your Curls

Hair care brands are more specific when it comes to branding. Not all hair care products will work for a specific hair type. Therefore, brands are created for everyone's hair type: straight, wavy, curly, coily, etc. Not Your Mothers is a hair care brand whose products are formulated for a variety of hair types and textures⁠— predominantly waves, curls, and coils. 

How they market their brand is on point. First off, the color scheme of their brand is bright and vivid. This off the bat provides a welcoming touch to those who walk past, take a look, or come across the brand in any form (in-store, online, social media, television commercial). The bottles of the products have hair strands of the hair type the product would work best for. This provides customers guidance to find which products work best for them. Here is where customer loyalty and trust start to build. Now they will know what the brand offers and see how they are inclusive to all different hair types. As a marketer, I know that this also drives the emotional connection of the customer to the brand as they feel like they are being seen and personally recognized. When purchasing new items, I highly suggest you “research before you buy them” just so that you do not waste money on hair care products that are not catered to your hair pattern, type, and/or porosity. 

Brands having a set branded look allows them to cohesively present themselves on the market. No one wants to purchase items that come from a brand that has no true identity. Obtaining an identity can help with future marketing opportunities such as new product launches, collaborations, and advertisements. Online presence is a major piece of the gigantic marketing plan puzzle. The content, influencer partnerships, and captions of posts all must correlate to the who and what the brand is. It's the visual aid that helps the brand appeal to the consumers when it comes across their screens. What will catch their attention? Will they scroll past or stay and be engaged with what they are seeing on their screen? 

Brand, Build, & Bounce

When branding a new company, the color scheme, purpose, message, and overall appeal of the brand are important. If consumers are fans of the brand, they will become brand advocates and share their thoughts about it with their peers. This forms word-of-mouth marketing, which is one of the best forms of marketing. Again, trust and loyalty are created as consumers share their feelings and take a chance on the brand by purchasing its products. 

Nonetheless, branding is not all about first impressions. It is also about upholding a long-lasting reputation in the market, as new brands emerge constantly. Maintaining a good reputation and stance in your specific market is important as it contributes to customer loyalty. As a marketer, you always want to think, “If I were the customer, what would I want to see on the shelf?”

Not all brands cater to the needs of every single customer. However, when developing a brand image, it is important to put yourself in the perspective of the consumer so that you can find a way to appeal to them and be different from all of the other brands that are out there. 

Stick to the script, hear out your audience, and create an attention-grabbing brand image to succeed in the market