Let’s be real. When you think of branding your company, you think of getting a new logo, some new business cards, and maybe a new sign on the building. You also probably think it’s an expensive exercise in vanity. If you’ve had any experience with a traditional branding company, you may be familiar with making all of your presentation materials – brochures, power points, print ads, etc – look and feel the same. But even still, as far as you can tell, you pay a lot of money to a graphic designer to slap some polish on the same old stuff. It’s for these reasons that you have probably avoided branding or re-branding your company at all costs. And I’m here to show you that you’re wrong.
Have you ever stopped for a moment to consider what branding is designed to accomplish? Your brand is supposed to be the connection between you and the way your customers feel about you. It’s that intersection between what they see and what they feel. It’s designed to generate a positive reputation. Unfortunately, graphic design alone can’t change that, which is why I’m telling you that branding extends far beyond your logo and brochures.
Consider the following statement: your hardware systems, your employees’ uniforms, and the competency level of your team all have an effect on your brand. I don’t know about you, but that’s not something I was taught about business. However, it’s been one of the truest statements I’ve ever experienced in my years in this field. Let me elaborate.
Everything you do to build your brand is really about improving your clients’ perception of your company. If that’s the case, things like hardware performance or employee competency are key factors in the customer experience, which has a dramatic impact on their perception. In other words, your brand is not just based on a logo or website, but on every interaction your clients have with your company. It’s the primary intersection between your client and your reputation. It’s your image.
A slow computer, an employee with sub-par competence, dirty uniforms, and poor store policies all create irritation and dissatisfaction in your clients, even more so than that logo can. Yet, they will associate those feelings to that logo and to your company name in every instance. A great logo gets attention, but a great experience builds a reputation. That reputation is your brand. That reputation is your image. Make sure you build it right.
That’s it for this week! Let us know if this article was helpful and what you thought about it in the comments section below, and make sure to share it with your friends. Have an awesome Wednesday, and we’ll see you tomorrow!
