86. What is a Brand and Why Do You Need One?

You've probably heard the word "brand" thrown around so many times it's starting to lose its meaning. 

In this episode, we're getting back to basics and breaking down what a brand actually is, the real difference between a brand and a business, and what's actually at stake when you don't have one. We're talking about the four layers that make up a full brand, visual, verbal, experiential, and strategic, and why skipping any of them is exactly why your marketing feels inconsistent. 

Your brand exists whether you've worked on it or not, people are already forming an impression. The only question is whether you're being intentional about it.

Are you bold enough to stand out in your industry or are you blending in? Take the Quiz → 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hello, and welcome back to another episode of Inspired by Design. Today we're going to be talking about what a brand is and why you need one. And this conversation is so needed and so important because in 2026, the way that we as consumers are purchasing is changing. The way that we market brands and businesses is changing. And if you are a business owner selling a service or a product or selling anything for that matter, you need to have a brand. And most people think that a brand is just a logo. But if that's all a brand was, then why would some businesses that have a beautiful logo still struggle to get clients? While there are others who have scrappy, imperfect visuals and they have a wait list. They are sold out and they maybe don't even have a full logo. That's because they have a brand. And a brand is not just what you look like, it's what people feel when they encounter you. And I'm excited to talk about this today because it all comes together. And the most successful magnetizing brands, they have it figured out because they do what we're about to talk about. And so I'm excited. Let's get into it. Okay, so first things first, I just want to clear up some confusion around what a brand actually is. And so a brand is really broken up into layers. The first layer is I think what people mostly think about when they think of a brand, and that is the visual layer, which consists of your logo. And I think that it's definitely being talked about a lot more, and people are starting to understand branding more and what it means to have a brand. And I think a lot of that has to do with influencer culture. But the visual layer is your logo, the colors you use, the typography, the photography you use, your specific design style, and essentially like what people first think of when they see your business. It is that front face. So that is your business name, your tagline, your tone of voice in everything that you put out and everything you send, whether that's newsletters, your social media captions, your website copy. It's also your messaging, how and also how you talk about what you do. So when you get on your stories, what are you like? What is that element of your brand? How is that coming across? And the verbal layer is very important, and it's important to have the verbal layer and the visual layer work together. And the reason for that is because there are a lot of strategical things that come from the way that you use your messaging in congruence with your logo, your colors, your typography. Everything means something and everything is associated with something else. And so the verbal and the visual are really intertwined here, but they are their own separate layers and they are important as layers of a brand. The third layer is the experiential layer. So that is your client experience, your product experience. That is how people feel when they're working with you, what they might say about you when you're not around, and like how they might refer you to someone else, how they speak about your business based on their experience and their experience of your brand as a whole. And the last layer is the strategic layer. And this is who you're for, what position you hold in the market, what you stand for, your values, your target audience, all the things. And so these layers kind of pile up one after another. But the foundation of your brand is strategy and making sure that you know who your ideal client is, where they shop, what they do every day, where they get coffee, like their favorite things that they're consuming and just who they are and the values they hold and the pain points they have. And then you can build everything outwards of your brand off of that. So then your experience becomes rooted in how to strategically make sure that you're helping that ideal client. The verbal layer, your name, your tagline, your voice, your messaging, it all is rooted in you appealing to that ideal client. And then lastly, your visual layer is a way that we use strategy to accurately then put that face to your brand that showcases your brand and make sure everything that is on the forefront, the logo, the colors, typography, photography, design, all of it reflects what's on the inside. So the brand is all for, but the visual layer is like the face of your brand. But that is what people think sometimes a brand is, is just the visual, but it's so much more than that. And I think there's even a difference between a brand and a business. Because a business sells something, but a brand makes people want to buy it from you specifically. So you need to have a brand in order to drive consumers to want to purchase from you because that your brand is what makes you different from other businesses selling the same thing as you. And your business has services, but your brand has a reputation. And businesses will compete on price, whereas brands compete on an identity level and a strategical level. And you can copy someone's offer time and time again, but you can't copy their brand because their brand is an extension of them, and their brand is a reflection of their specific experience and their specific strategy towards their business. If you're listening and you are a woman-owned coaching, wellness, or lifestyle business, and you're ready for a brand and website that actually helps you stand out in your industry and attract your ideal clients, you're in the right place. At Soulbright Studio, we design colorful, playful, vibrant brands and websites for women who are ready to own their authenticity instead of blending in. Everything we create has strategy and intention behind it. Every color, every element, every word is chosen with your business and your ideal client in mind. Working with us is like having a creative extension of your team where your go-to design partner, someone who really gets the heart of your mission and helps you bring it to life. We're here to help you anchor into your vision and amplify your impact. Head to Soulbright Studio.com slash contact. That's S-O-L B-R-I-T-E studio.com slash contact. The link is right in the show notes. And fill out the contact form and we'll reach out about scheduling a connection call to see if we're a good fit. Okay, so let's talk about what happens when you don't have a brand. Some main things, and you might be able to identify yourself in any of these, some of them, maybe all of them, but you attract basically whoever shows up, if anyone even does show up. And it's not specifically the clients that you want. You say yes because you're a business and you want experience and you want money. And that doesn't mean that the clients that are coming are like your ideal people, and so that is a gap in your branding because it means you're either not specific enough or your branding isn't speaking directly to that ideal client. Another thing is you compete on price because there's really no differentiator between you and another coach or another service provider. Your marketing might feel very inconsistent and exhausting because you have to start from scratch every single time. You are not sure what colors to use every single time. You're picking different fonts. You have maybe, maybe you have some consistent visuals that you do like that you utilize, but every time you're questioning whether they look good, whether they represent your business well enough, or whether other people will even like them, stop the scroll, any of those things. You undercharge because the perceived value isn't there. When you know what you stand for and you have a brand that really represents you and your experience, you can charge a more premium rate because you're more confident in the experience and what people are seeing from the outside, and you're just more confident in your brand in general. And people can't refer you as well because they don't know how to describe you, because you don't stand out from anyone else in your industry because you're just selling a service and there's no brand, there's no strategy, there's nothing rooted behind it. When you have a strong brand, what it actually does for your business is it attracts the right clients before a single sales conversation even happens. I can say with so much confidence that with a lot of people I've worked with across over my business journey, whether that is like outsourcing specific things or working with a mentor or working with a coach, every single one of them, like I fell in love with their brand before I ever worked with them. And so I knew that they were the right person to work with before I ever even had a single conversation with them. And that is the power of branding. And when you have a strong brand, you can price more premiumly, you can raise your prices because perception is reality when it comes to premium pricing. And a lot of people will pay more for something that they perceive to have a lot of value. It has nothing about whether that thing actually has value or not, but it's all in how we perceive it. You will also start to build trust faster because people will feel like they already know you, they recognize you because you've built that brand recognition. It makes your marketing so much easier because you have a voice, you have the visuals, you have a look, and you have a message to pull from. So you're not constantly going back to the drawing board to figure out what to say to speak to your ideal client, what colors to use to approach your ideal client, and all those things. And it also creates recognition over time because when you constantly deliver the same messaging, the same colors, the same fonts, the same vibe, you start to get known for that one thing. And every piece of content you put out that starts to compound over time and really create brand recognition. And lastly, it repels the wrong people. And this is so important because in order to be successful and to have the coaching business of your dreams, you need to be okay with repelling the wrong people because that means that you're attracting the right ones. And you don't need to serve everyone, you just need to serve the right people. And I also wanted to go as far to show that there is a difference between a brand and branding. So a brand is the perception, the feeling, and the reputation of something. So it's what people think and feel. Whereas branding is the actual act of shaping that perception through visuals, words, and strategies. So that's what brand design does. We are doing branding for your brand. And your brand exists, whether you've worked on it or not. People are already forming an impression about you. But the question is whether you're being intentional about it or you're just letting them form an opinion about you based on what it is that you have out there that isn't in alignment with what you actually are trying to do. And so you might be asking yourself, like, when is the right time to invest in my brand? If you've been in business a while, but your visuals are still just jumbled up, cobbled together, you're using random Canva templates, that's a sign. Have you raised your prices, but your brand doesn't match this new tier? So you've raised your prices and now you're feeling stressed out because you don't think that your messaging and your visuals all represent this new level of pricing. Maybe you're pivoting your niche or your audience. That's a great time to invest in your brand because it allows you to get really hyper clear and focused so that way you can then make sure that your visuals and your brand represents that new niche or audience. You maybe feel embarrassed to send people to your website. That is one of the biggest signs ever because your website should be doing sales for you. I mean, obviously, you need to get on calls and talk to people, especially if it's a service-based business because people are buying into you. But if you're embarrassed to send people there in the first place, you might as well not even have a website. When you love your website and you love what you have that is reflective of your brand, you will shout that from the mountaintops. You will send everyone to your website and you will be way more confident and people can feel that. Another sign you might be ready is that you're attracting the wrong clients over and over. And lastly, your brand no longer reflects who you are or where you're going. And this happens to a lot of business owners who are in business for a while, they get to a certain point in business, and they're realizing I'm not sure if my brand is what I want it to be. And that's okay, that happens. But there's a time and a place to keep pushing with something that doesn't feel aligned or to redo your brand, invest in branding, and feel much more confident, get much more clarity, and get some consistency so you can attract your ideal clients. So, how do you do this? You can do this by starting to get really hyper clear on who your ideal client is. And I mean like so, so clear who they are, what they think about, their values, because the truth is like your ideal client, they exist. That hyper focused, targeted person that you have in your mind when you think of like the ideal person you want to work with, they exist. And it's even helpful to like look back at your last, I don't know, five or so clients, or maybe not your last five or so clients, but looking over the course of your business, your clients, and maybe picking the top five and the bottom five, and then identifying what qualities were in the top five best clients, what qualities were in the top five low lowest clients, and that can be like not tech savvy, maybe they like took a really long time to reply. Maybe if you're a coach, then maybe the the people weren't as invested in their personal development as you were. And so by looking at the top and the bottom of your clients, you can identify what specifically made them a good client, what maybe made them a not so great client, and that can even help you in your targeting of your ideal client. Once you have that, I want you to think about your brand. Like what values do you hold as a business owner? What values does your brand hold as a whole? And what words would you use to describe your brand? What feeling do you want your brand to give to other people? Like when someone lands on your page, what do you want them to feel? Calm and grounded, activated, triggered, um, inspired. What is it? Name those things. And it can be more than one. And once you've identified those words, I would go on Pinterest, start playing around with those words, typing them in the search bar, adding brand in there, kind of getting a feel for the energy behind your brand, pulling some photos that you like and are feeling drawn to. And then from there, you can start to pull some colors from those visuals. You can also utilize color psychology and knowing what feelings and words that are associated with your brand and what colors might help evoke those specific feelings. And then you can also start to look for typography that matches those things. And kind of just getting an idea. And then if you want, you can try and assemble those things together and just start using those things. The most important thing is consistency and cohesiveness. You really just want to pick something and stick with it and start to build off of that. But if that's so overwhelming, and you're like, I can figure out who my ideal client is, I can figure out the brand values and words, and I can figure out the overall vibe, but I can't put it together and I can't make sense of that to be an outward-facing visual. Well, that's what we're here for. And we would be so happy to guide you through a brand process. And if you can't even identify who your ideal client is, that's okay because we go through intense brand strategy in the beginning of every project, and we get really hyper clear and hyper focused on who that ideal client is and the ethos and values of your brand, because that is so important. So now that you know what a brand really is, I would love to help you build one that actually works for your business. So if you are interested, we are currently booking out for July and August right now. You can apply through the contact form on my website. And then from there, we'll hop on a free brand consultation to chat about your brand, figure out your specific needs, see if we're a right fit, and then we will go from there. So I'm so excited to support you in a rebrand. This is truly my life's work. I am just obsessed with design, the power of design, and I really feel like strategic and thoughtful design has the power to really amplify your impact and make waves in your industry. And I just know that there are just some freaking amazing entrepreneurs and business owners out there who deliver outstanding results to their clients, but they just don't have a brand that accurately reflects that. And I'm here to help you stand out and to help you make it happen. So thank you so much for listening. I hope you learned a little bit more about what a brand is and have identified that you probably need one. And I'm excited to watch your brand unfold. I can't wait to be in your ears again next week. Thanks for listening.