Creating a Company Brand: 5 Things to Consider
Before we dive into important things you should consider when creating a company brand, let’s establish first of all what a brand is and why it’s important for your company. From the start, remember that your company brand is far more than just the logo you had designed to stamp on your business card. While your logo is certainly very important to your brand and it may often be one of the most memorable features, a company brand is much more.
In a nutshell, your company brand is the perception people have of your business. It’s your business identity: the look, the feel, the voice, and the overall tone that is seen and sensed by your customers.
Because your brand goes beyond just a logo, it’s key that your build a brand that leaves a positive impression on people’s minds. Even simply choosing the colors for the overall look of your brand is not something you want to be taking lightly. It’s going to affect how people feel about your business.
So when creating your business identity, what are some important things to consider?
Create something that you can carry consistently across a number of different applications.
When you’re creating the visual side of things for your brand, remember this goes beyond designing your logo. You’re also choosing a design and colors that will be a visual aspect displayed in your office or storefront. Your company’s “look” should be what people see throughout your website as well as across your business social media platforms. From your store signs to your packaging, your printed business cards to screen-printed or embroidered uniforms, these are all things you should consider when designing the visual side of your brand. Choose fonts and colors that will translate well on different types of materials.
Part of building your brand is building your company culture.
As you are building your brand, think about the kind of culture you are hoping to create. This is going to affect everything from the people you hire to the way your company is known to treat its customers. Your brand culture should never be an after thought.
In order to have this culture effectively carried through, you want to make sure everyone is on the same page. Don’t leave room for confusion with your employees on how things are handled. Your company values should be clear, and your employees should be able to give customers a positive impression of what it’s like to interact with your company brand.
Create a brand that can stand the greatest test: time.
This is certainly easier said than done, but when you create your brand, you don’t want to have to change everything again in a year or two. Building the look and feel of your brand shouldn’t be based on the latest design trends but on your core values and the mission you ultimately want to accomplish: making your brand memorable.
Trends are always changing, but your brand shouldn’t have to! Consider brands like Coco-Cola or Nike. The overall look and feel of these brands have stayed consistent for a long time. People recognize them and love them for what they are.
You aren’t building your brand just for you.
People can often tend to get caught up in the excitement of building their business just like they’d always dreamed. While that inspiration and excitement is a great thing, they also tend to forget that the company brand must be built around the target audience for real success.
When you are building your brand, start by putting yourself in your potential customer/client’s shoes. Get a group of your people together for a brainstorming session where you consider the general age range of the people who would be interested in your services or products. Consider the types of things they enjoy as you set the tone for your business. What are the problems these people face from day to day? What kinds of things will matter most to them? How can your business provide value to them? With input from your team, establish a well-rounded perspective of where your audience may be coming from and with that understanding, create your brand.
You won’t be able to please everyone.
Now, to make things extra clear, you are working to please a target audience, not make everyone happy. We all know that’s impossible. There’s no point in trying to please everyone and match their opinions. Rather, work to please the right audience for your niche.
Building a brand doesn’t happen in a day.
If your brand really was just a logo, you might get it done in a day. However, building the overall tone you want to portray for your business is going to take time. From the way your company is known to do customer service to the details like uniforms your employees may wear or the voice of your social media posts, it’s a process to build a recognizable company identity.
Also, remember that building your brand means establishing trust in your customer’s minds. Building real trust is usually not an overnight occurrence. Your end goal is to make your brand trusted, known, and memorable. Be patient and don’t try to make this happen in a mad rush.
Already established what you want your brand to be and now looking for more creative ways to make it known? Talk to Encore Uniform and Apparel to learn how they can help your business display your unique brand.