When you’re building a business, creating a strong brand and powerful brand recognition is of utmost importance. To help you find inspiration, we’ve put together 24 branding quotes from successful influencers who know a thing or two about building a brand.
The experts you’ll be hearing quotes about branding from include Jeff Bezos, Howard Schultz, Warren Buffett, Seth Godin and more.
Let’s get started.
Here’s a short selection of 8 easy-to-edit brand quote templates you can edit, share and download with Visme. View more templates below:
“A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well.” – Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos is best known for being the founder and CEO of Amazon as well as the world’s richest man, and the first person to ever reach a net worth of over $100 billion dollars.
Given the success of his company, he has a voice we can trust when it comes to building a great brand. His quote here is about how your company’s brand is similar to a person’s reputation, and how you earn that reputation.
“If people believe they share values with a company, they will stay loyal to the brand.” – Howard Schultz
American businessman Howard Schultz is most known for his time as CEO of coffee chain Starbucks. Although he didn’t start the company, his expertise in the coffee industry helped get the company where it is today.
And with so many people remaining loyal to their favorite coffee brand, you can bet that Schultz knows a thing or two about brand loyalty.
“Your premium brand had better be delivering something special, or it’s not going to get the business.” – Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, is famous for his philanthropy and investments. He’s currently the seventh-wealthiest person in the world and has an array of experience investing in and growing businesses.
His quote is all about building a premium brand identity so you can gain public trust in your business.
“A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another.” – Seth Godin
Seth Godin is an author and businessman who has written over 17 books about marketing, social media, leadership and entrepreneurship. With this arsenal of skills, he has the know-how to help others build a solid brand.
“Brand is just a perception, and perception will match reality over time.” – Elon Musk
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has built two of the most innovative tech companies in the modern age, so it’s a good idea to listen to what he has to say about building a compelling brand.
While Elon himself can oftentimes be a controversial figure, he has seen wild success in business and understands that branding is all about perception.
“Your brand is a story unfolding across all customer touch points.” – Jonah Sachs
Jonah Sachs is an author and entrepreneur, with books like Winning the Story Wars: Why Those Who Tell—and Live—the Best Stories Will Rule the Future and Unsafe Thinking: How to Be Nimble and Bold When You Need It Most under his belt.
“It’s important to build a personal brand because it’s the only thing you’re going to have. Your reputation online, and in the new business world is pretty much the game, so you’ve got to be a good person. You can’t hide anything, and more importantly, you’ve got to be out there at some level.” – Gary Vaynerchuk
Gary Vaynerchuk is an entrepreneur with a ton of knowledge and experience in branding and marketing, and this quote about personal branding is spot on. You need to have a good reputation and be a good person to help stand out from everyone else.
“Even individuals need to develop a brand for themselves … Whatever your area of expertise, you can take steps to make people think of YOU when they think of your field.” – Accelepoint Webzine
When it comes to your personal brand, the goal is to make sure that you’re the name that stands out when people think of what you do.
Think smartphones and Steve Jobs or cars and Henry Ford or the startup world and Mark Cuban. You want people to think of you and your brand when they think of such things related to what field or industry you work in.
“Branding is the art of aligning what you want people to think about your company with what people actually do think about your company. And vice-versa.” – Jay Baer
Jay Baer, founder of Convince & Convert, is a keynote speaker on subjects like content marketing, social media marketing, digital marketing and more.
And of course, he knows all about building a brand – especially when your face is your brand. And in a world of misinformation, you need to focus your brand on what you want people to think of your company, and combat other disinformation by consistently following through.
“A product can be quickly outdated, but a successful brand is timeless.” – Stephen King
Renowned horror author Stephen King’s true work may be writing novels like the Dark Tower series and IT, he knows a thing or two about creating a strong brand. And this advice is perfect – the promise of your brand goes way further than what you create.
“All of us need to understand the importance of branding. We are CEOs of our own companies: Me Inc. To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called You.” – Tom Peters
Tom Peters is best known for his work on business writing, and he’s often seen as a keynote speaker. So he knows better than anyone how important it is to focus on yourself when it comes to branding so you market yourself in a compelling way.
“If you’re your authentic self, you have no competition.” – Scott Stratten
Scott Stratten is the founder of company UnMarketing and he often does a bit of writing and influential speaking. This quote is great advice to take with you whether you’re going into a job interview or a pitch with investors.
“If people like you they will listen to you, but if they trust you, they’ll do business with you.” – Zig Ziglar
Zig Ziglar was a salesman turned author and motivational speaker, sharing what he’s learned in the world of sales and business. This tip offers great advice on how to build credibility in your business.
“If you don’t give the market the story to talk about, they’ll define your brand’s story for you.” – David Brier
David Brier has been called “brilliant at branding” by Shark Tank’s Daymond John, so it’s fair to assume that he knows what he’s talking about with this tip.
If you want to see brand success, you need to make sure you write the narrative of your brand instead of letting your audience tell the tale for you.
“Your brand is the single most important investment you can make in your business.” – Steve Forbes
Steve Forbes is best known for his role as Editor-in-Chief at publication Forbes, a digital magazine that covers all sorts of information about startups, entrepreneurship, branding and more.
In this quote, Forbes speaks to the fact that branding demands commitment, but it’s important to remember that the investment is always, always worth it.
“Branding is the process of connecting good strategy with good creativity.” – Marty Neumeier
Marty Neumeier is an author and speaker and is currently serving as Director of CEO Branding at branding agency Liquid Agency. So it’s a good idea to listen to him when he talks branding.
“Design is the silent ambassador of your brand.” – Paul Rand
Paul Rand was a well-known art director and graphic designer who created the concepts for well-known logos like IBM, UPS and ABC. And since logos are often the cornerstone of starting with your brand identity, his words here make perfect sense.
“Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room” – Jeff Bezos
Here, we have another great quote from businessman Jeff Bezos. Your brand is often based on what other people say about it, rather than your own self-definition, so it’s important to follow your own brand mission as closely as possible.
“Brand is the sum total of how someone perceives a particular organization. Branding is about shaping that perception.” – Ashley Friedlein
Ashley Friedlein is the founder and CEO of Guild, a professional messaging app. With experience founding several different companies, Ashley is well-versed in building a company’s brand.
“Your personal brand is a promise to your clients… a promise of quality, consistency, competency, and reliability.” – Jason Hartman
Jason Hartman is most well known for his real estate investing. He often has real estate mogul hopefuls clinging to his every word when he speaks to his portfolio and success.
“Products are made in the factory, but brands are created in the mind.” – Walter Landor
Walter Landor was a brand designer as well as the founder of the company Landor. Having founded Landor in 1941, Walter Landor was a branding pioneer who helped pave the way for what we know today.
“If no one hates it, no one really loves it.” – Jessica Walsh
Jessica Walsh is a graphic designer and founder of &Walsh, a creative agency. At the young age of just 34, she’s become a strong voice in the world of branding, so heed her words.
While we often love our brands, Jessica’s words here are important – when you build a big brand or company, not everyone will love what you do. And that probably means that you’re actually successful.
“You too are a brand. Whether you know it or not. Whether you like it or not.” – Marc Ecko
Marc Ecko is a fashion designer and entrepreneur. He created fashion company Ecko Unlimited as well as the publication Complex magazine.
His quote here is simple but it’s not at all a re-invention of how you should think about branding. You are a brand. And you need to work to strengthen your brand in order to be successful.
“The most important thing to remember is you must know your audience.” – Lewis Howes
Lewis Howes is a former professional football player, who has since turned into a Keynote speaker and entrepreneur who shares a ton of branding and business tips on his website.
Don’t forget each of these inspirational branding quotes when you start taking your brand to the next level. And be sure to take advantage of Visme's quote maker to help you get there.
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About the Author
Chloe West is the content marketing manager at Visme. Her experience in digital marketing includes everything from social media, blogging, email marketing to graphic design, strategy creation and implementation, and more. During her spare time, she enjoys exploring her home city of Charleston with her son.