In the fashion industry, branding is everything. The success of a branding strategy may directly affect a company’s revenue and image, so it is something that needs to have careful consideration and prior planning. 

Some noteworthy aspects that may help a brand can include consistency and familiarity. Clothing brands who have those two factors tend to appeal more to consumers and it becomes easier to have a loyal following with brand familiarity.

Take for instance Adidas or H&M, to brands with consistency and familiarity and note their success.

Company Branding?

OK, so some of you may be all new to the concept of branding or have a somewhat familiarity with it. That being said, we will go quickly over the basics of what company branding is.

In it’s basic, company branding is basically a brand’s story. It can be the company’s logo or how the company does customer service. Generating new leads and creating more new customers, while at the same time training employees is what makes a strong brand.

Examples of strong clothing brands may include Gucci, Ralph Lauren or Louis Vuitton. Through successful branding strategies these companies have become very well known and are of very high value.

Company Branding and Brand Identity

Branding refers to the process of constantly shaping and altering the way society perceives you. It is the collective effort that those in your company put to organise the company’s reputation. 

Brand Identity is what you have created via the process of branding, it is the elements in how you express the features of your respective company. Those said elements may include the logos, the colour schemes and fonts, the brand voice and brand values.

Your branding can have a major impact on your company so it is essential that you get it right.

Building a Brand Strategy

The development of a brand strategy requires a lot of planning and thinking, but when done right the outcome may be a strong brand! 

Here is how you can develop a strong brand strategy:

#1. Know your Target Audience

This is the first and most important step. To even begin a branding strategy, you need to know why? How? And who? 

You could try to appease to everybody, but knowing that we are all different means it would be harder to know what you can do to strategize. It is better to focus on the specifics of your ideal customers, like their behaviour, their needs and various information on their demographics and so on. 

The creation of buyer personas for your audience can assist in identifying what gets them to buy things or how they research said things, along with what they use to research those things. These are the kinds of information in which you can use to shape an effective branding strategy.

#2. Create a Mission Statement

A brand shows what your company stands for and what your company is. A mission is an element that is very impactful. IT is a statement as to why your company exists in the first place.

In a mission statement, you could perhaps share why your company and its staff do the things they do, it could perhaps inspire your audience and be a good look for you.

#3. Analyse the Competition

Do you know your enemy? Well, they do not have to be that hostile, but knowing your respective competition in the field you are in will assist in building a brand that stands apart from them.

You need to know why the consumers should choose you over the competitors, then you need to tell the consumers why as well.

#4. See what makes you Unique

In your field there may be many other companies that offer the same things you do. so you need to find What makes your own company unique and special.

 You can do this by listing what makes your brand unique and  use your uniqueness to sell. 

#5. Create your own style

One other way you can stand out is having your own unique style! As you know in the fashion industry, being unique is a big aspect, so your branding should represent that. For a good brand style you need to settle on aspects like:

• Your Logo.
• Website Features.
• Fonts and Typography.
• A colour scheme.

Make your brand unique in function and in aesthetic too!

#6. Launching.

Everything will be brought together in this phase. With your branding team you can begin work on your respective goals. You need to plan out on how you can be consistent on your marketing platforms, how you can create conversions on websites, how you can visually enhance websites in accordance to your brand style  and what content your audience needs along with where to prioritise the content. 

Once you have got a clear strategy, you should be on your way to getting the world to know about you! So get ready to meet your goals, but remember, consistency is key, once you have reached that high, it is important to never slow it down, just keep at it! 

Conclusion

Although your efforts through branding may be good, it is always important to remember that the product you offer is good too, perhaps quality may be part of your branding? Through that your company and brand may be renowned for quality, and the next time someone hears your name, they will think about the quality of your products.

But branding is easier said than done, sometimes you need to allocate your time on other aspects of your company and you may not have enough time to focus on branding, fortunately for you, there are plenty of firms out there that can provide great expertise on branding in Malaysia. These firms can help in creating a unique brand identity for you through establishing branding strategies in which you can follow! 

So be sure to plan ahead before starting your branding campaign, ensure that you have all the right tools and tactics you will need and soon enough, you will have a successful amount of sales inbound.