Branding is more important than you might think. It's certainly more significant than simply making yourself visible with a logo. What you need is a brand that communicates your deeper core values to your customers, and one that stands out in the marketplace. Creating a winning brand is all down to you, and how much you are willing to invest in a new brand.
Most successful companies today have a brand that identifies them in the marketplace and embodies their values. When customers see this brand on the Internet or offline they immediately recognise the products, services, and ethos of the business.
Without this identifiable brand logo businesses would be at a distinct disadvantage, but customers would also understand less about the products and service they buy. A brand is a distinctive label that promotes the values and reputation you build into it.
The first step on the branding journey is to identify the core values of your brand. This is a very important first step as it outlines the values that will resonate throughout the rest of your business. The core values form the true foundation of your business.
Start with a brainstorming session with your digital branding agency and decide what three values encapsulate your business and what you stand for. Don't worry if you think you have the same values as an existing company, the way you express them is likely to be quite different.
Following on from your values tasks you need to define your objectives. These are the goals you have to direct your project to and measure its success. Defining your objectives at the start of a project is recommended as it keeps you on track and is measurable.
What do you want your brand to accomplish? Do you want it to increase your customer base, convert more leads, or consolidate the business identity to be more streamlined and noticeable. When you have your specific objectives you can make some SMART goals for your project.
If your brand strategy is developed without a target audience in mind, it's likely your brand will be less effective. With a brand you are trying to create a strong identifiable logo that communicates its values, but who does it communicate them to?
The same values might create a very different impression on older people than younger people if presented in a certain way, therefore you need a target audience in mind to ensure your brand is hitting the right notes. Start with the age range of your target audience, then income range, occupations, and interests.
When you're promoting your brand for the first time you will encounter some barriers that can threaten to derail your project. These might be things like competition, positioning, targeting, timing, internal buy-in and cost. It's worth thinking about while developing your brand.
You don't want to launch your brand into a saturated market that already has several brands like yours around. Similarly, you need to sort out your brand's positioning when it's launched; is it unique, desirable, believable, deliverable, integrated and consistent.