In the worldwide network of marketing, there are varying opinions on how many different types of brands there are. No wonder millions of companies and entrepreneurs face challenges finding their niche and target audience. In a world where it’s mandatory to be online, create content, respond to client engagement in a timely manner, be visually appealing and still run your business to earn a living, branding and marketing are the first step in figuring out a cohesive message and image to work from.

Let’s break this down to the most basic form. There are two types of brands: Personal and Company.

Personal brands are recognized by a person’s face and name. Think of YouTube’rs, Instagram’ers and fitness icons. Kayla Itsines is a great example of this with her interactions and selling her BBG programs. On a larger scale, the cycle of know, like and trust has grown to a level where people associate a name with a certain standard of quality, purpose or visual image. Think Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres or Tony Robbins. The person who represents the brand is the brand.

Does your product have your name on it? Is your service you personally coaching a client? Does your website or social media page have your name as the title? You’re probably a personal brand.

Company brands are what people imagine of when they hear ‘brand’ and they’re more familiar with the mission. They are easy to identify because they provide a service or product to the consumer. Companies like Nike, Apple, Amazon or Harley Davidson are common examples of strong company brands.

If you’re a service brand your client is buying a service from you sight unseen and sometimes without anything tangible to hold. Service brands are the most reliant on having an extremely established brand message for buyers to know, like and trust them. Their business profitability relies on best serving other people and creating raving testimonies through consistent high-quality customer care and service. Examples of a service brand are someone that provides help, repairs or provides outstanding customer service.

If you’re a product brand like many of the examples above your business is providing a product and aims to differentiate itself against other similar products. How do you make decisions on the best burger, best car seat, best razor or best water bottle? Through branding. Great examples of this are Kleenex and ChapStick. If you’re wanting a facial tissue many will ask for a Kleenex. If you’re wanting a moisturizing lip balm, you’re likely to ask someone if they have ChapStick. Establishing your product’s brand closely with your client’s values and positioning yourself as the best in the industry are the main goal of a product brand.

If you’re just starting out the best type of brand to build is a business brand because of the diversity, employment and investment opportunities. Being able to market your products or service from a business name instead of your name alleviates the pressure of selling to your personal network. It also allows your business to go on without you having to be the individual that serves someone.

For example, Diane’s Wine Tours could tell a client the best wine tours are given by Diane. Your goal should be to run a successful business that is systematized to work if you take some time off.

What did you find most helpful in figuring out the start of your brand type? Let’s hear your branding questions!

Cheers!
Marin

PS: Want help distinguishing your brand? When you connect with me for a FREE Discovery Session you get all of those answers AND MORE. Let’s Get Started!