

Why 'brand' is important
We’ve discussed the importance of having a brand and defining what a brand really is many times in the past. But, if this is your first time reading a DoubleUnderscore blog, your brand is how your business is perceived by future, present, and past clients.
But why is it so important?
Today I want to do a deeper dive into why having a brand is important.
We don’t want you to have just any brand though. We want a brand that stands for something and elicits a strong emotional reaction from everybody who encounters it
Why Brand is Important
your past
When you’re first building a business, you start off with designing what you know. Usually, this means you get started with:
- A logo
- Business cards
- Some staff uniforms
But that is all very surface level.
And when you only rely on surface level branding tactics, your brand does not stand for anything, and therefore is not associated with anything in the mind of your clients.
Let’s explore this in action.
You are a fitness facility and your branding only goes so far as to having a logo slapped on a couple different pieces of merchandise and business cards (sound familiar?).
In the fitness industry, word of mouth and referrals are critical for your growth. So when people are searching Google or talking with their friends about what their goals are, if the extent of your branding is your logo, your brand will not be presented because your brand is not known for anything.
Ok, so I’m saying your brand is more than just a logo, but what does that really mean?
Let's dig in to what exactly a brand is, why it’s important and then how you can take these skills and apply them to your brand.
Why Brand is Important
What is a brand?
When we’re talking about your brand, we mean everything that you’re past, present, and future clients think about your brand. But for the purpose of this piece, I want to focus more on your brand personality and what your business stands for.
CTA FOR NEW FREEBIE
WHY BRAND IS IMPORTANT
wHY YOUR BRANd personality IS KEY
When you are establishing your business, there are three key reasons you will want to build a unique brand personality.
- LEADERSHIP
- PREDICTABILITY
- SOCIAL PROOF
By establishing a fun and unique brand personality, it will help you set yourself apart from competition who provides similar products and services.
The first this is done is by positioning yourself as the leader. When you are a leader, not only are you seen as the expert, but you also become the go to place for your service. Meaning, more revenue and more ideals clients.
Having a clear personality also ensures that you are predictable (which in business is key). Having a predictable brand, both internally and externally, will allow you to grow with your customer base. Your clients come to expect a certain quality during their experience with your brand, and your brand can predictably make business decisions such as promotions and content as you have a deep understanding of where your brand fits in your industry.
And finally, social proof. Social proof is one of the most important elements in a business. You can promote yourself as much as you’d like, but having outsiders give reviews (even something as simple as following you) is going to hold a lot more weight in the eyes of potential clients. These outsiders can be media outlets, online reviews, or peer opinions of your brand. Regardless of the opinion, social proof is essential in you client’s decision-making process.
WHY BRAND IS IMPORTANT
hOW DO WE BUILD An effective BRAND?
But how do we build a brand that checks off these three things?
STEP ONE: Build a brand who know who it serves
First and foremost, you need to know who your ideal client is. Sometimes this is referred to as your audience, avatar, or your hero, but at the end of the day it is a depiction of who you want to work with.
Starting with who you work with is key to develop a brand and service portfolio because if you are attracting busy moms but designing body building workouts, there is a clear disconnect.
Knowing who you serve is the foundation for any brand.
STEP TWO: You build a brand personality that knows who it is
Your brand personality is a collection distinctly human traits that clients associate with your business.
These traits are consistent throughout all elements of your brand and are clear from every experience your clients will have.
When it comes to fitness brands, different traits that I commonly see are: motivational, welcoming, enthusiastic, cheerful, and/or reliable.
Start thinking about what personality traits you want your brand to portray, these examples may work great for you, or you may want to explore other adjectives that represent your brand.
STEP THREE: Know how the two interact.
In addition to the personality traits that your brand portrays, it’s also important to consider how your brand interacts with your ideal client.
Does your client need someone they can relate to? Or someone they can aspire to be? Perhaps that need someone that is super intense to motivate them.
Understanding what your client needs from this relationship is a great way to establish your working relationship.
Back in high school, I learned about the idea of archetypes. And when you are establishing your brand, it is important to also understand what archetype your brand will have in the eye of your client.
As a refresher your 12 archetypes that most, if not all, people in brands fit into are:
- Ruler
- Creator/Artist
- Sage
- Innocent
- Explorer
- Rebel
- Hero
- Wizard
- Jester
- Everyman
- Lover
- Caregiver
Much like humans, brands will naturally be one, if not a combination of a few, of these 12 archetypes.
With fitness brands, I see a lot of businesses playing the role of the everyman, the explorer, and the hero
Everyman brands are those who are very relatable, they typically are friendly authentic and humble, and usually have the approach of “you’re just like me and I’m just like you”. I see this archetype a lot in coaches who target busy parents, where the brand is seen as an inspiration at a realistic level.
The Explorer brands are those who tend to push the boundaries a little bit more than the other brands. They are exciting, daring, and have the mindset of “don’t fence me in”. They want to have fun with what they’re doing and are driven by self discovery and the unknown
And the Hero brands are brands that are honest, brave, and have a mission that is something along the lines of “we can make the world better if we have grit and determination”. Typically, this is a more intense approach to your fitness experience.
Knowing and understanding your brand’s personality and how it interacts with your ideal customer will allow you to elevate your brand beyond just providing a product or service.
Now, let’s revisit the fitness facility from earlier.
In our initial situation, the example facility really only had a logo that they slapped onto a few products and was never really top of mind.
But if this facility followed the tools outlined in this article and branded themselves as a specialist in the ‘moms getting fit’ corner of the fitness industry they would be able to tailor everything they did to that audience.
Being known as a fitness brand who specializes in helping busy moms and acts as the everyman archetype, will help this facility grow their network, have more social proof, and be known as a leader in the mom’s fitness industry.
Take a look at your brand and really examine if your brand is working as hard as it should. Branding is incredibly important if you want to have dedicated clientele and make consistent income!
If you aren’t sure where to start, check out our new Fitness Brand Transformation Tool
20 Apps For Online Personal Trainers
what's next?
Not sure where to go next? Still not sure how to build a brand identity that wows your future clients?
Let DoubleUnderscore take the guesswork out of designing your online brand. Click the button below to complete a Brand Breakdown for a free consultation from the team at DoubleUnderscore