15 Insightful Branding Statistics

A brand consists of many expressions of the relationship between a company and its customers or clients. And yes, you can quantify its value (ask big name brands like Nike and Coca-Cola about that). We’ll do that and more with these intriguing branding statistics that will convince you to invest in your brand!

1. The brand worth the most in the entire world is Alphabet—better known as Google. It’s worth $286 billion.

Brands acquire value through use, recognition, and customer loyalty. Alphabet, Inc., the parent company behind Google, knows the value of branding and works hard to ensure that Google remains a household name (but not a verb—we search, we don’t “google” something.) Google mixes the right elements with an excellent product, ubiquitous use, and unique attributes to create the most valuable brand in the world.

2. Tech companies dominate the top 10 brands. Only 3 are non-tech brands.

Technology-based companies such as Google, Apple, and Amazon dominate the top 10 most valuable global brands. However, three are not tech companies. These include McDonald’s restaurants, Marlboro tobacco products, and Visa.

3. Shared values account for 64% of brand relationships.

Technology, speed, coolness, and wow factor? Apple. Faith, family, great service, and tasty food? Chick-fil-A. According to the Harvard Business Review, shared values drive brand relationships. Your brand must resonate with the target audience’s values and convey them in a way that forms connections between your company and customers. You do this through experiences and interactions. This branding statistic shows that every single experience and interaction counts, from the time a customer touches your brand to the time they move on to other things.

4. It takes 5 to 7 impressions to produce a smidge of brand awareness; Consistency of experience & repetition over time increase brand recognition.

There’s a great reason why brands such as Google, Apple, Amazon, and McDonald’s are worth a fortune: They’ve made their mark on the world through excellent products, superb customer service and experiences, and consistent products. Such aspects of branding are often overlooked for more visible symbols of brands like logos, trademarks, and colors.

5. But it takes just 10 seconds for people to form an impression of your brand.

Human beings scan their environment and form instant impressions. This is true whether you’re meeting someone for the first time or meeting a brand for the first time. It takes just 10 seconds for customers to make an instant decision whether or not they like and trust your brand. Make those 10 seconds count by investing in quality branding, especially visual branding, which accounts for a good deal of first impressions.

6. A “signature color” for your brand boosts brand recognition by 80%.

Visual branding includes choosing the color, logotype, and other aspects of the design of your brand. Among these attributes, color boosts brand recognition by a whopping 80%. Among brand colors, blue and shades of blue are the most popular. 30% of brands include some shade of blue in their logo. Color denotes different things according to culture, but in Western culture, blue represents security, trustworthiness, and seriousness. That’s one reason why firms such as IBM and Chase bank use blue in their logos.

7. 56% of marketers believe that personalized content marketing promotes higher brand engagement.

Content marketing encourages engagement with a brand, and engagement leads to brand awareness, recognition, and recall. Investing in quality content—and especially personalized content—connects people to the brand’s voice and builds relationships. Keep in mind that 48% of consumers expect brands to know them. That sounds like a tall order, but if you are sensitive to your customers’ needs, pay attention to customer feedback, and build your brand outreach around their needs, you’ll succeed.

8. 45% of people say they would unfollow a brand on social media if it spends too much time talking about its products.

Branding should be all about you. It should be all about your customers. Too much self-promotion on social media is a big turnoff for people. Remember that people are tuned into one radio station: WII FM, an acronym that stands for “What’s in it for me?” Create a customer persona, or an ideal customer, and think about how your brand solves problems for that ideal customer. Then, target your social media marketing efforts around that narrative and you’ll build a winning formula.

9. 50% of people follow one to four brands on social media.

It takes effort to win customers on social media. Again, it’s all about relationships. Customers want to feel they have a relationship with the brand. They’ll spend time with your brand, but only if you prove yourself worthy by offering content that is valuable to your customers.

10. 73% of consumers love a brand because of great customer service.

Many small business owners complain that they can’t spend as much on branding as their larger competitors. This may be true, but it’s not always what you spend on a fancy new logo or an ad campaign that matters. Providing exemplary customer service and insisting upon excellent customer service throughout your company, for example, costs little or nothing but yields extraordinary results when it comes to positive brand impressions. This branding statistic proves that focusing on your customers’ experiences with your company and finding new and better ways to build positive experiences is worth the time and the effort.

11. Loyalty can be worth 10 times as much as a single purchase.

Brand loyalty can be worth quite a lot. In fact, a loyal customer may be your best advocate, sharing your company’s information with many friends over time. Such brand loyalty may be worth much more than the profits you make on a single purchase. Cultivating, improving, and encouraging brand loyalty provides great benefits over time.

12. Consistent branding increases revenues by up to 23%.

Once you choose your brand image, stick with it—consistent branding increases revenues. This means consist visual branding, storytelling, and yes, customer experience. Brand guidelines, or written guides on how to use your brand marks and persona, help ensure consistent application of the brand.

13. 59% of consumers prefer to purchase from familiar brands.

Here’s another reason why it pays to boost your brand awareness: Customers tend to buy from familiar brands. The more people recognize, appreciate, and believe in your brand, the more they buy from you. It’s that simple.

14. A 2% increase in customer retention can lower costs by as much as 10%. Brand relationships boost retention.

Customer retention, or keeping customers coming back to your business, lowers costs because you spend less in acquisition advertising. The better your brand, the more recognition your business receives, and the easier it is to keep it top of mind among your customers. Better branding leads to improved recognition and sales; this, in turn, reduces the amount of money you must spend on advertising. It’s a virtuous cycle that starts with creating a great customer experience and welcomes customers with consistent products and services.

15. 75% of North American customers view private label brands as a good value.

Private label brands are products manufactured by a third party and labeled with the brand of another. Many small businesses use private label brands to boost brand image and give customers a reason to shop at their stores. These “exclusive” products rely more upon brand image than product differentiation for sales. Small business owners can benefit from the positive impression that consumers have of private labels to build their own branded products.

The Bottom Line

Small business owners would be wise to invest time and effort into their branding. A strong brand with wide recognition can be worth millions, if not billions, of dollars. To build such a brand, begin with excellent service, which costs nothing except time and training to implement. A recognizable brand image, consistently deployed across all marketing channels, helps increase brand awareness. With the insights from these branding statistics, you can build a great brand that helps you retain more customers and reduce marketing costs.