Every successful business has a carefully crafted brand that customers connect with effortlessly. With some dedication to detail and a few key insights, your brand can dominate the competition. Here’s what you need to know.
What a Brand Is
In short, a brand is a box full of perceptions, ideas, and feelings the public has about your business – and every time you send out a public communication of any kind, that box opens. In other words, a brand is the collective image or sentiment others carry about your solutions, values, and attitude. It is not easily cultivated or changed. Cherish your brand.
At its core, your brand is your promise to your customers. And it should be considered at every point of contact with them. Any inconsistency may be perceived as not living up to your brand promise. Remember, successful brands don’t happen by chance. Dominating the competition with a strong brand has to do with following key principles.
How to Brand Using Key Principles
Possibly the most important aspect of branding is visual. Successful brands understand that colors matter when selecting a logo, building a website, etc. Different colors convey different ideas; choose carefully. Font styles are also important, as they can communicate confidence, trust, warmth, casualness, and other attitudes. Promotional graphics should fit comfortably with one another and not stand out or clash with the look of others.
Image courtesy of TradeIndia.com
But branding also extends to verbal communication. A healthy brand has a simple and clear tagline that gives the customer your value proposition in a nutshell. The voice of the brand must be consistent and resonate with your target audience. If you are marketing to attorneys, your voice should never include slang or cursing. Conversely, if you market to teenagers, your voice should probably be informal and include sarcasm.
How to Brand Using Specific Techniques
Specific techniques for branding your business could fill an entire college-level course. But let’s give the basics.
When selecting a URL for your website, keep it simple. Try to stick to your company name.- When selecting a logo, maintain consistency in its dimensions and colors.
- When crafting a tagline, keep it confident, positive, and emotional.
- When communicating to your customers, always stay on point; don’t deviate from your key message and talking points.
- Whenever possible, use your colors and tagline to reinforce your brand.
- When looking for leads, lead with content; the majority of customers interact with a brand primarily through the brand’s helpful content in the form of blogs, podcasts, infographics, and video.
- When setting up social media channels, always use the same imagery and graphics across all platforms, and select usernames that closely match your company name.
Controlling your communication output is how to brand like a boss. Staying on point and effectively emphasizing the value you bring to the world is the best way to stand out from the crowd, be perceived as an industry leader, and generate loyal customers.
If you feel your brand could use some help, contact us for a FREE 30-minute brand analysis now!
