Branding Checklist For Small Business
So some people ask, “What is Branding?” Steering clear of any cattle, branding in business simply means the identity of a business or product. A well know example would be Kleenex. Kleenex has done such a great job of branding that many people don’t say, “I need a tissue,” but they say, “I need a Kleenex.” Kleenex is the name of the product; but it is now interchangeable with the type of product it is.
A top priority for any business should be to create a unique branded image and protect that image at all times. This means that any time you print business cards, brochures, promotional products, produce videos, post on social media, create custom apparel, or do any other forms of marketing, you should stay consistent with your brand. You have many competitors both locally and online that offer the exact same service, so how do you differ from them?
Below are 3 key points to use as a simple and easy checklist to make sure you are staying true to your branding when doing your marketing.
- Always use your logo. Think about how many people know the McDonald’s arches. Better yet, think about how many people DON’T know what the McDonald arches represent. While you may be a small business and your logo won’t be recognized nationwide, it will be recognized within your local business region if you brand it properly. Don’t skew the proportions of your logo and don’t change the colors. Sometimes you have to print black/white and that is okay. The ultimate goal is for people to be able to recognize your logo without having the business name printed below it. That’s successful branding!
- Stay true to your company colors. Most companies have certain colors used with their logo and their marketing theme, which is great. When possible, always use the color combination in both your marketing products and when printing your logo. This consistency of color branding reinforces your brand.
- Develop a tagline that highlights why your company is different from competitors OR a tagline that is catchy or funny and represents the mood of your company. Always use your tagline on any printed products.
Overall, the main theme to remember in branding is consistency. Always keep a uniform look and make sure your employees understand this as well so your branding comes across consistent in all forms of communication. Over the long term, your branding will pay off big time and your company will have a much better recognition with not only your current clients, but also with potential clients who have yet to use your products or services.
BRANDING – Maximizing the potential of your business image
Your brand is so much more than just your logo. It even includes how you and your employees dress, how you present your products and services, how well your website reinforces your business model, and even how you and your team answer the telephone. Branding is how you communicate your business image to the outside world on a consistent basis.
Before you can establish your brand, you need to delve into exactly what your core business is. You should have a catch phrase that captures the essence of what it is you bring to the table, and include it whenever your talk to customers. Here are 10 questions you should ask yourself as you try to capture your brand personality:
• What is your business name?
• Tagline?
• What do you do?
• Who are your main competitors?
• …and why are you so much more brilliant than they are?
• Who are your customers (your market)?
• What specific impression would you like your clients to have of your business?
• What are the benefits of what you do?
• Why do your customers buy from you rather than the competition?
• If you had to summarize your business’s image in three key words, they would be
o ____________________
o ____________________
o ____________________
Now evaluate what you are doing today. How well does it communicate your brand personality? Design can be a very personal, subjective thing. As such, it can be a difficult thing to farm out such things as logo design. Getting an outside opinion, however, can go a long way toward avoiding inappropriate messages. Even using the wrong font or color in business communications can send conflicting messages to your customer.
How is the tone of voice in your written brochure text? Does it convey the right level of professionalism without being overly stilted? Get your friends and colleagues to look over your material and check to see if their impressions reflect what you intended. If not, perhaps it is time to make changes and work on the consistency of your branding efforts.
Keep control of your brand! Even if no changes are required, and your brand personality is where you want it to be, make sure everything in your organization supports that image. If anything has drifted afield of your goals, make sure you take action to bring it in line. Your bottom line will reflect your efforts.
Tom Godbold, Perfect Imprints (www.perfectimprints.com) 850-582-5743.
I’m So Hungry I Could Eat The . .
I’ve heard the expression, “I’m so hungry I could eat the back end of a mule.” However, the typical expression has another word substituted for the underlined word. While I have heard this expression used several times when someone is really hungry, I’ve never seen a place where this may actually be a reality….until today. Take a look at this picture I took at a restaurant. Now, obviously the ‘n” fell off of the sign, but now instead of ready International Buffet, I read this phonetically as Interassional Buffet. Doesn’t sound very appealing does it? Your image for your business is critical to be successful. If a portion of your sign falls off, you must fix it right away and not let potential clients get a poor first impression. It’s difficult to get over a poor first impression for a business, but it’s easy to avoid it in many cases with some regular maintenance and upkeep. Branding is a vital process for any business and keeping a consistent positive image should be done across all advertising mediums such as your sign, brochures, business cards, website, Facebook, Twitter, promotional products, and any other literature.
Do Your Customers Know Your Logo? Branding Issues
Whether your company is a fortune 500 company or a small business, you should have a well-designed logo and proudly display every chance you get. Every opportunity you get for branding counts toward growing your business. Whether it be on your website, business cards, flyers or brochures, or promotional products, you should prominently display your logo.
The more people that are exposed to your corporate logo, the higher the chance that person will remember your company when they need your services or products. Let’s face it…most of us are not lucky enough to have no competitors. We all have competitors, and I’m sure you would rather people think of your business rather than a competitor’s business. That’s why we should all heavily focus on branding our company. Branding all starts with a logo that people can associate with your business. The goal is for people to know your business name just from seeing your logo. Once you have accomplished that, you know you have had some success with branding your image. Promotional items are a great way to help boost your branding awareness campaign. After all, everyone loves free stuff, and they are much more likely to remember your business name and logo if you have given them a free gift. Good luck with your branding campaign!
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