Branding

First impressions are important, and for many potential customers, your logo will provide the initial glimpse of your brand. A company logo is essentially the face of the organization, and it should tell prospective customers everything they need to know about your business right up front. Logos set the stage for large-scale identity design.

What can you offer customers? How do your services or brand experience compare with the competition’s? What do customers get from your business that they can’t get anywhere else?

Your brand message should account for these questions and more. It defines what your company is, permeating everything from marketing materials to tag lines to product descriptions.

There a lot of factors that are wrapped up in brand messaging, including:

• Value proposition.
• Key differentiators.
• Brand principles.
• Organizational culture.
• Target audience.
• Product positioning.
• Brand equity.

Everything your company says should have meaning, and that meaning should always reflect your brand messaging.

Brand positioning could easily be considered a subset of brand messaging, but it’s important enough to warrant its own discussion.

In short, brand positioning is how you set yourself apart from the competition. What do you bring to the table that’s wholly distinct from other players in your market? If you don’t have a clear answer to that question, it’s going to be difficult to convince potential customers to choose your business over another one.

Brands are like people: Each one has its own particular way of expressing itself. Some are friendly, some are irreverent, some are unflaggingly professional and some are aspirational. Establishing a brand voice and adhering to it across all touch points, marketing campaigns and customer interactions is extremely important. Having a strong brand voice solidifies your company’s identity, and any deviation could negatively impact the perception of your organization.

Style guides can lay out your brand voice, messaging, design principles and more in precise detail. They instruct your staff members and business partners on the exact language to use in different scenarios, what color schemes to incorporate into design layouts and how to most effectively communicate with your core audience.

You are your brand. If you can’t clearly articulate what your brand stands for, then you’re probably going to struggle to convince prospective customers to buy from your business over the competition. Branding services can help you identify your core principles and package those values in a message that resonates with your audience.