The perceptions customers have of a brand will dictate their behavior towards that brand. So, if your new or established business creates a unique and attractive brand that accurately represents your offering, then it can go a long way in influencing your target customers to buy your product or service.
If you don’t know where to start developing your brand, you’ve come to the right place! Lighthouse Counsulting Group has worked with a range of different clients to align their stategic vision with their brand’s purpose and presentation. These two high-level functions — strategic planning and branding– need to be carefully intergrated. Below are some basics of business branding and provides tips for doing some of the jobs yourself.
What Exactly Is Branding?
Branding is all about perception. When you create a brand for your business, you are essentially shaping how customers perceive your business. Whether consciously or unconsciously, we all have perceptions of brands that ultimately decide how we engage with the said brand, so it is your company’s job to create branding that represents your business exactly how you want it to.
Many factors go into branding, and some of the main ones include choosing a customer target, designing a logo, and determining what channels and messaging to use to present your company’s personality. Many of the world’s most iconic brands are so simple that a casual onlooker may think it would be easy to create it. However, just the opposite is true; creating branding and figuring out how to position it in the market is one of the most challenging tasks for a business.
What Does a Branding Agency Do?
If you work with a branding agency, you are going to pay big bucks. But understand that the best agencies do a lot of work; they build your branding from the ground up and ensure it remains relevant as the market evolves.
A reputable branding agency can create a top-notch logo that makes your company stand out, determine which marketing channels will work best for your goals, and even craft the right words and tone to use for your content. All in all, professionals can help you tailor all of your promotional and informational content to appeal to your target customers.
Depending on your specific team, you may be able to handle some or all of your branding responsibilities in-house. Or you may need to hire all of them out or only specific tasks. When working with pros, however, you will need to stay heavily involved in the process and provide any information or collaboration necessary to produce a top-tier product.
For example, if you are working with a web designer on design ideas, you will likely be communicating primarily through email. If you are sending files back and forth, consider the tools you will need to collaborate effectively. This might include getting a tool to convert JPG to PDF without compromising image quality. Such software can even enable you to convert many JPG files at once.
Which Branding Elements Can Your Team DIY?
The branding tasks you can handle in-house will wholly depend on your team’s capabilities and experience. Keep in mind that, while it can save you money upfront, if you do not have the skills necessary to create effective branding, you can waste precious time and cost your company more money in the long run.
So, evaluate your team to determine if you can take care of tasks like:
- Crafting logos
- Choosing color palettes
- Picking the suitable shapes for your marketing materials
- Writing taglines
- Administering the right imagery
- Selecting the right typography
You will also need to figure out how to position your brand in the market, which is in itself a job!
Few things are more important for a business than creating effective branding. Keep learning about all of the elements involved, and determine which tasks you should outsource to professionals and which ones you should try handling in-house. The ultimate goal is to invest the necessary time, energy, and money into presenting your company to the market in the most accurate, freshest, and attractive way possible!