Branding Made Simple

A good brand will incorporate every aspect of a company’s personality, including its logo, tone of voice and how it is perceived by its customers. The aim of any brand is to show your customer base what makes you unique. It should make your business memorable. Branding your business can feel like a daunting task especially as you are trying to make it like Goldilocks porridge “just right”. It always makes me smile when I ask a client about their brand and they show me their logo. You should see the look of horror and dismay on their face when I ask what their logo represents. Before they swiftly conclude that I am a complete idiot I then explain that a brand is more than a logo.

If you are creating a brand from scratch or if you are considering a brand refresh the most important thing to remember is to keep it simple. Like any other strategic aspect of your business, it requires careful consideration, but a powerful brand should look effortless, don’t over complicate the process. If your brand is high maintenance this could potentially hurt your business in the long run. Your brand should communicate who you are and what your business stands for. It is the strongest visual representation that your business has including your logo, website and solutions or products. Your brand should also encapsulate your mission, personality and the message you want to portray to potential customers.

So how do you define your brand? It is surprising how often this takes clients by surprise. What I mean by that is sometimes business owners think they know their customer’s perception of their product or solution, but a little research can tell a different story. Business owners are so engrossed in their day-to-day tasks that they can lose sight of the difference between customers’ needs and wants. The brand and businesses identity can suffer or even worse, it can get lost in the mix.

A little outside perspective can really help a business thrive and freshen the brand by taking it back to basics. One of the first things I do with my clients is, I get to know the foundations of their business. This is the core to an effective branding strategy. I will ask simple and sometimes silly questions (P.S. there is no such thing as a silly question). This enables me to define the brand by affirming what it stands for, what benefit it offers, what makes it unique and the image that will saturate everything from your letterhead to your customer’s omnichannel experience.

An evaluation will quickly tell us if your brand has the following elements in place:

  • An informative and well-designed logo.
  • A strong and consistent style.
  • A fresh and professional look.
  • Clearly communicate your mission and message.
  • A set of brand standards that incorporates primary and secondary colours, fonts and any other required elements as well as recommendations on how to use them.
  • Branded collateral including leaflets, presentations, letterheads, digital and social headers, etc…

Each of these elements helps to humanize your brand and they each tell a part of your story. A brand that is built on strong foundations using these elements will help you connect with your audience on a personal level. Your brand is your businesses most authentic and strongest representation of you and ultimately will help your business grow. Whether you are creating a new brand or refreshing your current one, the process does not need to be overwhelming. Follow the steps above and remember to keep it simple. The output should be an authentic version of you and what your business represents.

If you don’t know where to start when it comes to branding your business or would like to discuss the process in more detail, please get in touch. We would love to have a chat, a coffee and discuss how amazing your brand is going to be.