How can I increase my business’s visibility is a question I hear over and over again? If you have been looking into ways of growing your business, then the word branding has probably come up on numerous occasions. Branding is a process of creating and maintaining the conceived public image of your product or business. How then do you go about constructing a brand to fit in with your marketing?
Making sure everything has a similar look and feel, is a simple way to describe branding. For instance, as far as a visual branding idea goes, the use of your logo, colouring, images and messages throughout your marketing, that is the exact same logo etc, on every single item that you use for marketing. For example: Images on Facebook, ads on Instagram, Invoices, Letterheads, Emails, Uniforms and promotional items.
You apply a brand to your product; it is not necessary to change your product to fit a brand.
As far as the branding to fit a particular type of market, let’s turn to a small-town bank as an example of branding. Their market is middle income families and older people, and what they have to offer is a small, local banking service untied to the Big Bank look. The bank could benefit nicely from a family-friendly, country brand, ensuring the well-being of the town and its inhabitants as a core part of its function.
The process of constructing the brand can come down to three steps once you have done your research.
- Your Mission: what your business strives to do.
- Your Values: The things your business deems important and your business practices.
- Your Vision: Where your mission and values come together to accomplish exactly what it is you are trying to create for your customers.
Now consider, your visual identity, your voice, your image, your colour, your personality
Know your audience and who you are trying to appeal to.
The essence of a great brand is that it makes you FEEL something. This is why, a buyer chooses your business or product over the endless other similar products all competing on price.
Try and see your business from the outside, see what your customers see and be truthful to yourself. Don’t use the excuse of “well they won’t see that!” or who cares – THEY DO CARE.
Make yourself look and feel the part. If you say you already have good customer service and your branding is on then ask yourself some hard questions –
- Do I really look feel and look the part?
- What could I/we improve?
- Am I really honed in on the correct people for my product or service?
- Have I shown my customers what my values really are?
Stay focused to make sure your on track and pay attention to the little things that matter to your customers – this will happen if you truly know and understand your customers
Branding could be the answer to your questions and make your Business stand out and Shine.
Brand matters no matter what size your business!
