Your brand goes far beyond just creating a face for your company, it’s has to be authentic and about you and your values. It’s the connection between you and your target audience. It’s all about giving you the confidence and being proud of what you have created to go out there and promote, promote, promote your product or service!
But first, here are my top ten branding tips:
1) Focus on what your business can achieve for your clients. Focus on one thing at a time!
2) Take ownership of your brand. Pay attention to your clients needs, but make sure you still control what you want your brand to say about your business.
3) Be honest. If you don’t believe in your brand, or yourself, no one else will.
4) Keep your brand simple by focusing on a small number of key brand values that you can weave in to your Brand Identity.
5) Be consistent with your brand. Every aspect of your business should make customers feel the same way about you. Leave them with the same lasting impression – make sure you are using your brand guidelines across all social media platforms – start mixing it up and you are in for a rocky ride!
6) Be thorough. Look at all your methodologies to make sure they help to support your brand. Do they back up your brand promise?
7) Involve your team / connections. Make sure they understand your brand values and brand promise and believe in it just as much as you.
8) Communicate your brand. Talk it, own it, wear it! Make sure ALL of your marketing material promotes and reinforces the same message. Ask yourself, what makes you unique and different from your competitors? If you have a logo, use it everywhere, but make sure the quality and placement is consistent across all media. Do you have a distinctive personality / brand character that you can reflect across your brands messaging?
9) Meet and exceed what your brand promises. Failing, just once, will damage your brand. Don’t dress up what you are offering and raise expectations. If you can’t live up to your promises you WILL lose clients!
10) Manage your brand. Continually look for opportunities to make improvements. As your business grows, so will your brand and it’s expectations. Don’t be afraid to make changes to reflect the way you conduct business or new trends in your industry, your brand is a journey just like life itself – embrace it!
Would love to know your thoughts on Branding and what it means to you as a business!
