In our blog, Why is Rebranding Important?, we defined branding and showed our own rebranding process at Designflair’s. Now we’ll take a look at why branding is crucial to your business’ success and how to create a consistent message. A brand is the associations that a person will make with your company, product or service. Branding is about creating and maintaining your company’s identity.
Consistency is Key
Branding ensures consistent representation of your company, product or service. Having a cohesive message creates a consistent experience for customers to gain familiarity with you or your company. Branding impacts the performance of your company for the better. If it’s done well, that is.
What is Your Mission?
In order to create unity in branding, you must first be confident in your company’s mission statement. It should encompass the who, what, where, why, and how of your company.
Who are you selling to? What do you offer? What are you selling to your clients? What differentiates you from your competitors? Where will you sell it? Where will you advertise it? Why do you do what you do? How is it accomplished?
Many businesses use a tagline or slogan. This is a very short description to grab attention. For example, the tagline we developed for Designflair is “We design solutions to grow your business.” In a few simple words, this taglines engages the reader and gives a glimpse of what we do as a company – we design. Design is still a broad term but in combination with the rest of our branding, it hints at what we do.
Your mission statement, or message, however, can be longer than just a tagline. This is a complete description of who you are and what you do and why you do it. It is the essence of what motivates your company. A mission statement should be detailed, yet factual. One example of a successful mission statement is from Patagonia.
Patagonia’s mission statement clearly describes what they do and what makes their company stand apart from the rest. This understanding influences all interactions their brand has with the outside world (customers & vendors) as well as internally with their employees and management.
The mission statement belongs in your “About Us” page or section of your site. In our next blog post, we will share ideas about how to spruce up your “About Us” page!
Social Media & Branding
How you present your company and how you interact with fans on social media are all aspects that influence your brand. What social media platforms are you represented on? If you’re not using a platform, don’t advertise it. If you never tweet, for example, it is not beneficial to have a link to Twitter from your company’s website.
Think about which platforms are conducive for your business. For example, if your business often runs sales and promotions, Twitter will be a beneficial platform to implement. Pick a few platforms and update them frequently. Then, include connecting links or social media plug-ins to each platform, encouraging visitors to explore all your sites.
This is when you make sure that your identity is clearly expressed on each platform. There are a number of ways to accomplish this, from filling out the “About Us” or “Info” section, the way you display your logo and tagline to the messages you posts and the conversations you have.
Your brand identity can be maintained by having your logo displayed on everything, from your website to business card. Another way to establish unity on your platforms is using the same colors. Utilizing company colors can be a quick identifier for people visiting your various sites.
Starbucks is a prime example.
We are all familiar with the Starbucks logo of a Siren, which Starbucks deems to be “the true, welcoming face of Starbucks.” They wisely use the same green from the logo throughout their website.
We see this green in a color block on the top of the site and as a way to highlight keywords on their menu. By consistently using this deep green color, Starbucks builds their identity. It allows the viewer to feel as if they are in a Starbucks cafe, just from browsing their website.
Colors, logo design, and your mission statement are all ways that clients and potential clients associate with your brand. Take advantage of these ways to create and engage loyal customers.
Hire a Professional
Your company’s identity is foundational. Being consistent in displaying your identity will build trust with your clients. With something as important as brand identity, it is worth the investment of hiring a professional. Designflair creates marketing pieces that build a seamless message, and convey your mission and brand across all media. Ask about how we can help you create a unified brand.
