Today’s image-based social media often provides owners with a false understanding of business branding. Although logos and certain color pallets are important, they are only a small piece of the puzzle. A successful branding project not only makes the brand recognizable, but it also has a long-lasting impact on the consumer. The following list details the top five tips for better business branding.
Define Your Brand
Coming up with catchy phrases and looking at color palettes might be fun, but the meaning behind those things is what is really going to determine the success of your brand. Therefore, a business owner must always define their business before anything else. This can be accomplished by laying out what you want your customers to think about your business when they see your brand. Once that is established, use that to create a mission statement. A great mission statement involves your goals for your customers, employees and the business over the long-term.
Name Your Brand
A good thing to keep in mind is that you may not come up with the perfect name or phrase on your first try. The good news is that a number of platforms allow you to make this mistake and easily correct it. You can change your business name on Facebook. Other sites that allow this are Instagram and Snapchat. For the correct approach to creating a great catchphrase for your company, the number one thing that must be done, regardless of your industry, is that it must be creative and to the point. Anything above nine words will not hold your consumer’s attention long enough for them to care. In addition, a catchy phrase must complement your logo. An excellent example of this can be seen in General Electric’s slogan “Imagination at Work.” The slogan perfectly ties into the company’s logo, and thus recognition and a connection to innovation in the consumer’s mind are created.
Create a Logo
Creating your first logo can be a little daunting; after all, this is going to be what most customers are going to see from your business for the first time. Choosing the right logo takes time and true conversation amongst your staff. One of the most common mistakes made by business leaders is bringing in a professional design team before they have a clear idea of their brand’s mission statement. The design team will no doubt provide you with a hip and modern logo for your company, but the fact is that you need more than hip and modern to really make an impact. You want something that can stand the test of time while still delivering a consistent message. Take Coca-Cola, for example; although the logo has changed over their 100-plus years in business, it remains relatively the same.
Develop Your Brand’s Voice
Developing the right brand voice for your company doesn’t have to exactly match with your specific industry. In fact, not having a voice that exactly matches your industry can be very beneficial. Take the insurance company Progressive, for instance. When thinking of insurance, most people don’t often think of comedy, but more often than not, Progressive’s ads are entirely based on comedy. Although odd, it certainly works, as it is today one of the most popular insurance companies in the world. Try it out; ask anyone who Flo is, and you’ll no doubt get the correct response.
Be Consistent
It is often said that brand loyalty comes from providing a great product, and although that is true, it is not the entire piece of the puzzle. Consistency in business is so crucial that if a company is big enough, they will dedicate a whole quality assurance department to making sure that everything is truly consistent. Consistency gives your customers a sense of confidence that leads them to continue to work with you on a regular basis. Companies such as Amazon have perfected this practice. They are consistent with their customer service, packaging, shipping, and even their email marketing.
Creating a better brand will no doubt take time, money and lots of patience. It’s important to take the necessary time to create your brand so that you can build customer loyalty. Simply adhere to the tips listed above, and you’ll no doubt lay a strong foundation for the life of your business.
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