An effective brand can give you the edge in increasingly competitive markets. It is derived from who you are, who you want to be and who people perceive you to be.
Tags: advertisements brands Branding is so much more than applying a logo in a consistent manner and using the right Pantone colours. Every form of communication should be pulling in the same direction, whether visual or tangible. Your communications should look and feel very similar, a bit like a uniform. Without the similarity you run the risk of losing your prospects and customers trust and loyalty because they can’t recognise, and then pinpoint communications back to you.
How can you develop your branding? A starting point.
Your logo should appear in a similar way on all marketing material and you should utilise the same typeface in all written communications (even email). It’s a good idea to choose a small selection of colour ranges for your marketing material and you should always try and apply design styles consistently. Reinforce key messages in the same voice – the tone of your copy, put more of an emphasis on your key terms and the benefits of your services / products through repetition, but make it appealing (what do your prospects want to hear? We can save you time / money, etc).
Essentially, your material should present itself like a family – supporting and looking similar to each other.
But don’t forget about other key areas:
If your staff need uniforms, make sure they match your company colours and have your logo printed on them. Branded promotional items should also reflect upon your services / products and your customer base, for example, it would be more beneficial and suitable for a web designer to giveaway branded mouse mats rather than umbrellas! Is the quality of your print up to scratch and does it look as good as your products / reflect the standard of your services?
Think long-term
With branding you need to think about the bigger picture and see it as being a long-term necessity, but start as you mean to go on. The core message of all successful brands never really changes and the leading brands are usually leaders because they have years of consistency under their belts.
The key is to have in place a very clear idea of what your brand is and how you will consistently communicate it. Why not start by writing the core proposition of your brand on a piece of paper and then put it in a prominent place where you will see it daily, next to a tick list of your achievable branding goals?
[The article has been contributed by Sharon Charteress. After many years of working in design agencies, she set up Mood Design Solutions in 2006. In 2010, along with two other local business women she set up a networking group, The Colony Networking Group. She now specializes in Social Media, Graphic Design and Web Design and also advises small businesses owners. ]
[The article has been contributed by Sharon Charteress. After many years of working in design agencies, she set up Mood Design Solutions in 2006. In 2010, along with two other local business women she set up a networking group, The Colony Networking Group. She now specializes in Social Media, Graphic Design and Web Design and also advises small businesses owners. ]
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