Your brand is more than just your logo. It's the experience, reputation, blood, sweat, and tears that you pour into your business. Your brand is often the first thing potential customers interact with, setting the tone and their expectations, and that's why it’s so important to create a strong and consistent brand presence. Beyond that, there are a couple of reasons why branding is important. Creating a brand for your business improves recognition, builds trust, and actually helps build your business. In an industry where referrals are of the highest importance, a strong brand is worth its weight in gold. You want potential clients to remember your brand so that when they walk away they’ll know exactly who you are and where to find you. Read on to learn how branding goes beyond aesthetic and how it can help your business!
Why Having a Strong Brand Is Important
You can’t be successful in your business if you don’t have a sense of identity and if you don’t know who your ideal client is. Having a strong sense of branding will help you find your clients and help you discover the message you want to send.
1. Identify Your Ideal Client
When it comes to the creative needs of your brand—copywriting, visuals, and website—knowing your audience makes it easier to market and speak to specific clients. Who is it you want to attract? Your brand should be catered around your target audience, so get very specific. Knowing the ins and outs of your ideal client makes it easier to identify their pain points, understand how they make decisions, and provide the right solutions to their needs.
2. Target Your Message
Your brand messaging is the language and phrasing you use to describe and market your business. It’s what appears on everything from your website and marketing materials to how you speak about your services. Take a look at how you’ve been talking about your business. Are you speaking to the pain points, emotions, and needs of your target audience? Do your language and tone reflect the core values of your brand? Establishing a framework for your messaging makes it easier and clearer for both you and your clients to know exactly who you’re speaking to. Make sure your tone is appropriate and consistent.
Brand Evolution
All brands grow and evolve over time. Analyzing if your brand reflects your work is a way for you to see and track your growth.
When we rebranded we had to spend time reflecting on who we became. There was nothing inherently wrong with the original logo or overall brand aesthetic we had. It was elegant and timeless. We loved everything about it. We didn’t have to change it. However, when we considered how much we’ve grown as a business, and how diverse our products and our customers had become, we saw the need to make a change that better reflected the Aisle Planner of today. The decision to make changes like these is never easy. We were deeply vested in the original design of our logo and every facet of our brand. It was tough to let go at first but as we dove into the process, it became easier. It was fun and exciting and created this reinvigorated energy for our entire team. It can do the same thing for you and your business.
The First Step Is Always the Hardest
Our original logo made us look “dated and old.” We heard it repeatedly in descriptions of our ad designs, the graphics and copy used to describe our products, and things we did. When we took a step back and looked at it in perspective, we had to admit––they were right. The logo and the rest of our branding didn’t reflect our company culture or customer today. Motivated by that series of meetings, we created a project in AP called ‘The Re-Brand.’ We built out some amazing style guides of companies we admired, brands we loved and causes we aspired to align with.
Pro Tip: Need a few ideas on things to brand in your sales process? Think about things like your business cards, swag, brochures, proposals, contracts! And, you can easily brand your documents in Aisle Planner!
Branding & the Client Experience
Branding also goes a long way with client experience. Introduce your clients to the team that will be making their day a success. As much as a brand is a visual representation of your business, there are real people behind that brand. Branding is a way to show clients that they aren’t just another person on your calendar. They are a part of your lives as much as you are a part of theirs. Upon booking, send out welcome packages that include items that are branded, but also gift items that still speak to your brand and are intentional and thoughtful. Little branded reminders are so appreciated by clients. What seems like small things are actually just reinforcements building that trust in your brand and process. Anything from branded stationery and client notebooks to the client login page that leads them to their Aisle Planner account–it all lays that groundwork.
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