THE BEST BRANDS HAVE CLEARLY ARTICULATED PURPOSE
You might think that your brand’s purpose is the same as its mission statement, but they’re actually two different things. A mission statement is a high-level goal that describes what you want to accomplish with your brand—the reason why you created it in the first place. But a brand’s purpose goes deeper than that: it’s about what your company does, and why it does it.
The best brands have an inspiring and motivating set of values (or “why” statements) at their core. They’re aspirational but still grounded in reality—meaning they’re simple enough for anyone inside or outside of the organization to understand them clearly and relate them back to their own lives. In other words, these are brands that know exactly who they are and can articulate this consistently across all channels so everyone knows exactly what makes them special from everyone else out there doing similar work!
JUST BECAUSE IT’S WORKING FOR OTHERS DOESN’T MEAN IT’S RIGHT FOR YOU
It’s important to remember that branding is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Your business and goals are unique, and so is your audience. If you’re considering a new brand or rebranding, it’s important to know who you are and what you do as a company before you can figure out how to tell the world about it.
The best way to get started is by asking yourself these questions:
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Who is my company? What sets us apart from other companies doing similar work? What makes us different from our competitors? How does this translate into visuals (logos, color scheme, etc.)? Does my current branding reflect who I am as a business? Do I need more information about what type of message I want to convey through visuals like logos or images used in marketing materials?
YOUR LOGO IS SECONDARY TO THE VALUE YOU PROVIDE
Your logo is not your brand.
What is branding? What does it mean to have a strong brand? How do you build a strong brand that people identify with and trust? These are questions every business owner should be asking, but they’re hard to answer without knowing what goes into the process of branding. You can have the best logo in the world, but if it doesn’t represent who you are and what you stand for, then it really isn’t worth much at all.
When thinking about branding, there’s more than just logos and slogans to consider. Branding is about:
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Your values (what’s important to you)
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Your vision (what do you want your company/product/service to be known for)
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How you communicate with people (your tone of voice)
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How you behave as an organization
THE HUMAN PART OF BRANDING TENDS TO BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE VISUAL
As a small business owner, you don’t have the luxury of spending thousands on a brand identity. But that doesn’t mean you can’t create an effective brand for your company. In fact, many successful brands are those that focus on the human element rather than the visual component.
The human element is what makes a brand relatable and memorable; it allows consumers to connect with your company in ways that make it credible (and therefore sustainable). A good example of this is Dove Chocolate bar. It has been around for more than 50 years but remains relevant because its messaging always speaks to women in their 20s-30s who are looking for products that can help them feel great about themselves without breaking their wallet or making them look too old-fashioned or out of touch with reality.*
EVERY BUSINESS SHOULD TELL A STORY, BUT THAT STORY SHOULDN’T BE SUPERFICIAL OR FLUFFY
Every business should tell a story, but that story shouldn’t be superficial or fluffy. It is a powerful way to communicate who you are and why people should care. But there’s more to it than that: A good story will make people remember you, while a bad one can make them forget you as soon as they leave the room. So what makes for a good brand narrative?
A lot of companies focus on storytelling just because it seems like an easy way to stand out from the competition and connect with customers emotionally—and maybe that works in some cases. But if your goal is simply to gain attention or get on someone’s radar for all the wrong reasons, then creating a memorable brand narrative isn’t going to help much anyway, because ultimately your audience will only remember how off-putting your message was.
It’s important not just to create something people are talking about (because they won’t be talking positively), but rather something they feel so strongly about that they want others around them (family members included) to know about it too—and ideally experience firsthand!
YOUR BRAND IS NOT A LOGO, IT’S MUCH MORE THAN THAT
Your brand is not your logo. It’s much more than that. Your brand is the perception of your company, it’s the promise you make to customers and it’s the story you tell about what makes your business unique and different from the competition.
Think of how many times you’ve seen a clothing tag or sticker on an item, but never read what it says or thought about why that sticker was there in the first place, let alone understood what it meant for the product in question or where that brand came from. That little tag actually tells quite a big story about its origins—and yet most people don’t pay any attention at all!
The brand of your company is the face of your business, and it’s essential to create a good one. A great brand is more than just a logo; it’s how people perceive you and what they think when they hear your name. If you are looking for help branding your business contact us to see how we can help you achieve your goals.
