Are you breathing your brand?

Brands are fascinating things. Successful brands are highly profitable and bad brands can drag a business down with them. But what makes a successful brand?

Is it your logo? Is it the consistency of your printed stationery? Is it the messaging in your website and literature? Is it your signage? To find the answer, we have to go right back to the beginning to understand the essence of a brand.

Brands were originally a symbol of ownership or a means of identifying a product that was similar to others in the marketplace. As promotional channels have developed we now consider brands to be much more than just an individual product or service. A brand is created by a business, but lives in the minds of customers through their perceptions gained by experience of your business, product or service (we’ll use the word business for simplicity). It doesn’t matter what your logo looks like if a customer has a negative experience, they will form a perception of your brand in-line with that experience.

Therefore, a brand develops with every ‘experience’ a customer or prospect has with your business. Such experience is not just based on conventional things like literature, advertising, packaging, signage or website, it’s also the way you answer the telephone, sign off your emails, maintain your premises and deal with your public on a day-to-day basis that influences their perception of your business and shapes your brand.

Once you understand how a brand works, it’s easy to understand why brand management is so important. Successful businesses understand the value and influence of their brand(s); they ensure that every aspect of their business upholds their brand—from product development, marketing and sales, to administration, finance and ‘shop-floor’. Successful businesses also help employees understand their role in maintaining their brand. The result? Customer ‘experience’ which is consistent and a brand which is strengthened. But beware, the opposite is also true as inconsistency can spell disaster to a brand.

Once you are ‘breathing your brand’, once every aspect of your business is aligned and customer experiences are consistently positive, you will create ‘brand ambassadors’ – customers who promote your brand to others because they’ve had such a positive experience and they believe that your product/service will satisfy the needs of their fellow customer.  Wouldn’t every business benefit from more brand ambassadors?

If you’d like to know more about developing your brand, then give us a call on 0117 907 9930. We are passionate about creating successful brands and helping businesses implement brand strategies which deliver tangible ROI.

The Devil is in the Detail

A successful company brand is not just about getting your basic product or service right, it’s about building a total customer experience right down to the smallest detail (after all, don’t customers generally take, as given, our ability to do the job well, but are ready to complain at the tiniest thing that goes wrong?).

Building a total company brand experience is a complex subject, but the core premise is that it affects every point of contact a customer has with your business (i.e. visual, verbal, audible, tangible, intangible, etc) and you should take every opportunity to impress. Here are a few basic pointers to get you thinking:

• Keep your premises clean and tidy when visitors arrive.
• Ensure staff are appropriately dressed and communicate in a welcoming and open manner.
• When sending goods, ensure they are properly packaged and in good condition when they arrive.
• Ensure deliveries arrive when promised.
• Regularly update the magazines in your reception.
• Have up to date sales literature available for customers to read in their own time.
• Be easy to contact, e.g. is your telephone answered promptly, do you have an answerphone service or helpline.
• Keep customer records up to date (in all departments!), so their names and contact details are correct if you write to them.
• Ensure your website is appropriate and up-to-date with the latest information on your company, products/services and contact details.

The Three Cs of Branding

The benefits of a strong brand are tremendous; they can charge premium pricing, thrive during economic downturns, attract great employees, partners and customers, and can extend into new business areas with ease. Strong brands all have three things in common:

• Clarity—strong brands are clear about what they are and what they are not.
• Consistency—they are always what they say they are.
• Constancy—they are always there, they don’t go hiding.

The smaller the company, the easier it is to achieve these objectives. Just think how much work goes into achieving this for Coca-Cola, the worlds biggest brand!

Show your True Colours

There’s no doubt about it, a strong and consistent use of colour will get your company noticed and plays an important role in differentiating you from your competitors. Consider long and hard when choosing your company colours, they should reflect the personality, quality and standard of your business.

Once you have made your decision, manage it carefully. Go that extra mile to get the colours exactly right on all printed material. Work with your designer or printer who can advise on which print process will achieve the best results. Remember to check that your chosen colours also work well on-screen in your electronic based communications, such as your website.

Most importantly, be consistent on when and how you use your company colours, even down to your promotional gifts—keep the standard up!

Unearth your ‘Brand’ before Developing your Logo

The first step to branding involves understanding your unique value proposition. It should reflect your vision, purpose, values and passions for the business. Once identified, you can build a marketing communications strategy that will reflect your brand message and best appeal to your target market.

Your logo is the symbol by which your company brand is recognised so, when developing your company logo, communicate clearly with your designer; make sure they fully understand your company brand and target market. Most importantly, manage your brand. Always be consistent and true to your brand in everything you do and your business will thrive!

Logos—the Winning Formula

Whether you’re re-branding a business or launching a new product or service, a good logo is a key factor for success. Developing a winning logo is no mean feat and involves a strange mix of art, science and psychology… here are a few pointers guaranteed to put you on the right track.

Don’t take it literally!

Think of a big brand… McDonalds, Nike, BMW… their logos don’t include imagery of hamburgers, sport clothes or cars. That’s not to say if your business is manufacturing umbrellas that you shouldn’t use an umbrella in your logo, but it’s not a necessary requirement! Your only goal should be developing a logo which is unique to your market (imagine how many other umbrella manufacturers use umbrellas in their logos!).

Maximum impact at all sizes!

Seeing a logo blown up on a presentation board can look impressive, but before agreeing the final design, make sure you’ve seen it at its smallest size, i.e. a business card. A good logo should have impact, whatever size is used.

Using a strap-line

If you are using a strap-line in conjunction with your logo, i.e. Nike—just do it, consider it as part of the logo design itself. Ensure the colours and font used for the strap-line, compliment the logo and add to the overall aesthetics.

Make it fun!

Don’t make choosing your new logo complicated—it needn’t be! Remember, your customers and viewing public will not spend weeks studying your logo—neither should you! Don’t be tempted to pull apart the designs looking for hidden meanings (leave that to art critics at the Tate Modern!). The best way to make a decision is based on first impressions—ask a small group of people for their first reactions and then pick the logo which has the most positive initial appeal.

Put yourself in your customer shoes!

Your new logo shouldn’t adhere to your personal likes and dislikes—it needs to appeal to your customers. Put yourself firmly in their shoes when making your final choice.

Remember, the aim of your logo is to help you sell more. So identify a designer you can work with and trust, follow these simple steps and you have yourself a winning formula!