Your Branding Choice - It's Your Choice On How Your Customers Feel About Your Company.
Branding is the process of creating a strong, positive perception of a company, its products or services in the customers mind by combining such elements as logo, design, mission statement, and a consistent theme throughout all marketing communications. Effective branding helps companies differentiate themselves from their competitors and build a loyal customer base. Consumers identify with a brand because the brand creates a mental association between the company and the brand name. People want to buy a product because they think of that product and trust that product and brand. People will buy the brand name because they have confidence in that brand. Branding creates and maintains strong customer loyalty by allowing customers to quickly recognize and trust a company. Branding, therefore, is as much about your image as it is about the product. Branding affects the customer perception of your company and affects the value of the company’s product. Branding helps you set the stage for attracting customers who want to buy the same product, because of the same brand. Branding helps build confidence in your brand and how the company treats its customers. So, how do you get started to create a brand? I see it as a great "blank canvas". A brand is built on the foundation of strong fundamentals: consistency, trust, and dedication. Branding is built upon the principles of trust, excellence, and dedication. And like anything else in marketing, it's a process. I like to think of it as an art project. It is something that is done. It's finished. It takes time and effort to create a brand. So, the first thing you will need to do is choose a theme and a focus. Choose a direction and shoot for it. It will be a goal to make your brand stand out. There are no "right answers" in branding. Every company and every situation is different. I suggest that you spend some time deciding what you want to accomplish with your branding. For me, my goal is to gain leads and to get new customers through my door. My theme is "high quality, low price". My focal point is the “X” in my logo. My colors are teal, black, and grey, with the “X” standing out as two-color imprint. My logo is the logo of the company, it is the logo of my brand - the logo of me. My logo is the only thing that is consistently used and the only thing I incorporate into my branding. My business card and other marketing materials are used to show my customers that they are dealing with the same company. I also use my logo in my company brochure or product sales brochures and my promotional items which are the focus of my marketing company. My branding is consistent. To get your branding to stand out, it must be consistent. Sometimes it makes sense to hire a marketing company to help with your branding while you focus on the day-to-day operations of your business. As a Certified Marketing Consultant, I am qualified to do my own branding! However, it is time consuming so I hire other companies to do the initiatives I cannot do, giving me more time to focus on my branding. If you opt to allow an agency handle your branding and marketing, be sure that you provide your logo in several types of formats. Vector artwork is best as it can be scaled as small as a business card or pen or as large as a ten foot trade show banner. Lean on their expertise for strategy and design but use your intuition when it comes to knowing how you would like your customers to think about you and your brand. You choose how you want your brand to look and feel. After, all, it is your business!
Promo Xpertz LLC is an outsource marketing department for small businesses, entrepreneurs and non-profits. If you need help with your branding, or any marketing initiative, they offer a one hour FREE consultation and guarantee that you will walk away with at least one idea that you can put to use immediately to move your marketing forward.
Contact Diane Carson at 636-399-7777, or email diane@promoxpertz.com or visit the company’s website at http://www.gopromoxpertz.com
