Is it time to rebrand your business?

Building a brand is the process of establishing the ‘look and feel’ of your business. It doesn’t necessarily have much to do with the foundation of your work (although both should be properly aligned), but more to do with how your business looks to the outside world.

Those who put strategy and effort into properly branding their business are usually the ones who are well liked, often talked about, and constantly increasing revenue.

Here are some great, yet mostly overlooked tips to building a killer brand:

Put Your Best Forward

Offering a quality product or service is only half the battle. And in today’s market, too many businesses are using words like “luxury”, “quality”, and “the best” in order to lure customers into their stores, or to click on their website, but aren’t able to back up the claims.

In order to really grab a customers attention, brands need to put the best they have to offer forward. One of the most effective ways to do this is through professional photography or videos.

Using footage of your actual products – customers can spot the difference between stock images – that are properly staged, well lit, and shot by professionals allows your business to show customers what they can expect from your business.

It may seem like something a business can do themselves to save a bit of money. However, poorly lit, un-staged, grainy cell phone pictures and videos will only turn your customers off. Considering that there is so much competition, your goal should be to build desire, and give your customers something to share with their friends and followers. Having slick, attractive promotional material takes you that step above a simple branding message of “This is who we are. This is what we offer” and instead says “This is something you should care about! Look at how amazing we are!”

Fresh Logo

Don’t be mistaken, there is so much more to building a brand than having a logo. Big brands like Coca-Cola might have an unmistakable logo, but hey worked very hard at merchandising, advertising, and marketing strategy to convince people that coke tastes better out of a glass bottle (it’s the same. It’s not. It is. See, we can’t tell!)

The point is, rebranding is as much about an inspiring vision and renewed purpose as it is about physical image. However, shedding your old skin for a fresh new one holds weight on the path towards vision and purpose. So, it’s not as much about having a great or new logo, it’s about how you use it.

Internally, a new logo can be a homing beacon to perk up and motivate your business. The change lights the way for direction, and is a symbol for what everyone is trying to accomplish. Use it as a conversation starter to get staff on board and fired up.

For your customers, a new logo signifies change, and it draws attention to your brand. This can have a huge impact on your business, especially if you’re still using a static old logo that stands out for all the wrong reasons. A rejuvenated and contemporary logo let’s customers know that you’re embracing change, and improving for them.

Online Strategy

Support your brand with user friendly performance online. A well-functioning, and updated website is mandatory, but businesses also need to make themselves findable on the web. Effort needs to be put into copywriting, social media strategy, and online marketing.

Too many businesses fail to see this as a part of their brand, but he truth is, your customers are more likely to find you, search for you, or research you online first before ever stepping foot into your store.

Each piece of your online marketing strategy (Website, Social Media, SEM) should be your hardest working employees. We can circle back to setting proper expectations for your customers. When people can easily find you online – or even better, referred to you by a search engine - and have a great user experience on your website, then are kept up to date with relevant social posts, they’ll know they can trust your brand to provide them amazing experiences and service.

A great brand is more than a name and flashy logo. It’s what your customers think of when they hear your name or see your logo. It’s the connection they make with your business, and how they talk about their experiences with their friends. If you want to build a killer brand, you need to be putting effort into every step of a customers journey, and surpassing expectations along the way.

Looking to build, improve, or remodel your brand? Contact us and we can help.