Branding is a hot topic amongst business owners and executives in 2019, and for good reason: more and more marketers are realizing that having a strong brand amplifies everything else they do. When the public knows your brand and thinks good things about your company, it’s easier to sell directly, advertise new products and services, and recruit top talent.
While these benefits are generally known and recognized, the best ways to realize them aren’t. In other words, decision-makers know they need good branding, but aren’t sure how to brand their companies effectively.
Let’s look at a few concrete steps you can take to help establish the right impressions in a customer’s mind…
Choose the Right Visual Identity
Logos and visuals are essential to good branding. The human mind processes images thousands of times faster than text or abstract ideas. What’s more, pictures create an emotional impact that other kinds of marketing don’t.
The effect of all of this is that your visual identity (and especially your logos, colors, and fonts) tell an instant story about your business or organization. It’s imperative that they be spot on if you want buyers to think about your company in the way you want them to.
Establish Branding Guidelines to Follow
Although visuals are important, your brand is bigger than the aesthetics. By realizing that, you can be intentional about the impressions you create through other elements like your website, social posts, email signatures, and print advertisements.
The best way to ensure your messaging stays on track is to establish a branding worksheet with your creative team. This will outline all the different ways your branding elements can and should be used in marketing communications. The resulting document can be used internally by yourself and employees, of course, but also shared with other vendors and partners.
Make Marketing Decisions with Branding in Mind
Too many business people make marketing decisions that aren’t consistent and coherent from one campaign to the next. That’s problematic because some things that might make sense in a moment aren’t necessarily in-line with larger branding goals.
You certainly have short-term results you’re trying to create with an email newsletter, for example, or a direct mail send. However, you should always keep your branding front and center so you aren’t contradicting your own branding guidelines and decreasing their effect.
Be Consistent About Using and Growing Your Brand
You may have noticed that much of our advice around branding centers on being consistent. The more people see a consistent branding message and identity coming from your company, the easier it is for them to not only understand your unique value proposition, but also make a top of mind connection with your messaging.
In other words, knowing the focus of your brand is a good first step. However, to really make it pay off, you have to use it consistently for months and years until buyers and colleagues recognize it instantly.
Get Help from Philadelphia’s Top Branding Agency
Branding doesn’t have to be a mystery, and it certainly doesn’t have to break your marketing budget. To get help establishing the right identity in your market – and ensuring it stays in customers minds – talk to the experts at Biondo Creative in Philadelphia today. We can help you to build a brand that doesn’t just endure, but also leads to more sales in 2019 and beyond!