Your business brand is everything. It represents the goals you set for the future, the relationship that you have with customers, the ethos you want your staff to have and the place you forge in the world of commerce or services. It’s what makes you easily identifiable and goes far beyond the logo and any quirky tag line.
Think of the brands you know and ask yourself what these mean to customers. When you see the logo for MacDonald’s, what really comes to mind? If you pick up a smartphone, what are you expecting from the branding?
All products come with a brand which influences to a considerable extent whether customers decide to buy or not.
A good brand delivers numerous benefits:
- Firstly, it makes you easily recognisable. People see your logo and instinctively understand what you are about, even if they’ve never bought your product.
- That visibility allows you to create a connection with the customer that is based on trust. If they believe in what you offer and it looks the part, they are more likely to buy your product.
- Good, strong branding will undoubtedly migrate over into your marketing and advertising, helping you to stay on track when you organise campaigns to reach out to new customers.
- Growth often depends on great branding. Once you have a strong brand in place, you will be able to attract investment in your business that leads to greater success.
- Staff who are working for a recognisable brand are more likely to feel connected to your business than if you have a weak brand. That means they will rally to your cause and work harder for you.
Finally, branding is vital in attracting new customers and spreading the word. Once you stand apart, people see your product and your stock begins to rise. They start talking about you in internet chat rooms, share your logo with their friends and create a snowball effect that increases your visibility.
The look and feel of your business brand is not easy to get right. But it is one of the most important things that needs to be settled early on. Yes, you can go through a rebranding exercise once you have achieved some success and that’s something many businesses do. But trying to nail down what your company stands for right now and how you want to present it to the outside world should be the first thing on your mind from the moment you decide to set up and head out on your own.
One way to work out how your brand can develop now and in the future, is to work with a professional graphic designer. They’ll be able to match the design of your logo and the look and feel of important factors such as your packaging and web design so that they perfectly reflect what your business is all about. It’s certainly worth spending the time and effort in getting this right from the outset, creating an authentic design for your business that customers will recognise and engage with.