Even the smallest company should have a coherent and engaging brand image. Regardless of budget, it is possible to create a brand that triggers recall in customers and conveys reliability and trust. The bigger your business becomes, the harder it is to control the perceptions that people have, which makes it vital to focus on branding from an early stage.
Tips to take your brand to the next level
Whether you’re branding an eCommerce store or a physical one, it is important to maintain consistency and focus on the key points. The tips below are a good place to start when developing a brand and marketing strategies.
- Establish your core values
Decide what your business stands for and why. It is useful to understand your weaknesses and your strengths, and give your business things to work on as well as promote. Figure out what your brand is and what it is not, and where you want to take it in the future. This is important and draws a map that your company can follow.
- Create a voice for your brand
This should be based on both your values and the audience you are selling to. It should be a voice that reflects the style of your business and what it sells, as well as the demographics of your audience. Develop a style guide that includes colour schemes and logos, as well as a guide to the tone of voice that written communication should use.
- Be consistent everywhere
Once your brand guidelines have been set, stick to them. In all communications, whether external or internal, make sure everyone adheres to the style laid down. It should become second nature to communicate with the brand voice and new staff should be exposed to it from the moment they interview. Consistency is what makes a brand stick and flourish, and even the occasional lapse can undermine the hard work already done.
- Give customers the dream
The best brands are aspirational. They portray a lifestyle that is desirable to their audience and show the ideal experience of using the product or service. No part of the engagement journey should break that spell, whether it’s the meta description under your SERP result or the in-store experience, every detail should be telling the same story.
Not simply a matter of budget
The big companies can throw almost endless money at branding and still not get it right. The key is building a style that is possible to maintain and then not compromising on it. This consistency and commitment is key to building trust with your audience, which in turn will reap the rewards of loyalty and revenue.