What does your branding say about your business?

We write a lot about various aspects of brand identity development and how it relates to online and offline marketing strategy. One question we often hear from small businesses in particular is why branding matters. Taking it back to basics, here are five great (and tweetable!) reasons why your brand strategy should come first:

Branding exemplifies all of the nuances of your business in a way that is memorable. #freshcoolgrow Click To Tweet

Think about the reason you started your business in the first place. Maybe you wanted to offer a new product or service or maybe you wanted to do something better than anyone else before. Maybe you just wanted to meet the needs of a market that wasn’t being served. All of these considerations went into your business plan and should also be communicated visually through your branding. Whether you want to let customers know you’re the first, the best, or the most reliable, strong visual branding cues can drive the message home.

Your brand is your promise to your customers! #freshcoolgrow Click To Tweet

Along with your website design and other marketing collateral, your brand is often the first and last thing your customers see when doing business with you. It becomes what they associate with all aspects of your operation, and it can evoke powerful emotions and ideally very positive associations to your company. If you’re serving your target audience well, a strong brand identity reminds them why they chose you in the first place, and why they should return.

Your brand speaks for you when you can’t! #freshcoolgrow Click To Tweet

Think of the last time you explained your business ideology to a customer. Most business owners are proud to tell customers about their business and how their approach is unique — essentially why they’re in business. The problem is that no one can have a direct conversation with every potential customer. Your brand can fill this gap. A strong identity communicates your message for you to new customers, and serves as a powerful reminder to existing ones.

Your brand helps guide cohesive decision making in your company. #freshcoolgrow Click To TweetFrom your website’s header to the receipt or invoice you send a customer, your brand is ever present at every point of interaction with your customers. Similarly on an internal level, your branding serves as a guideline of how to represent your business in every decision you make. The reason we always recommend a brand book (or style guide) for each project we take on is that every business can benefit from a cohesive guide to direct all of their marketing efforts. A well defined branding strategy helps avoid inconsistent messaging and helps drive your business in the direction your business plan intended (to better serve your future goals)

Visuals are consumed and interpreted thousands of time faster than text. #freshcoolgrow Click To Tweet

Finally, whether people are visual learners or not, we are all hard-wired to interpret visual elements before text. A beautiful brand captures your customers’ attention and encourages them to stick around long enough to read your message!

Looking for a complimentary audit of your branding? Get in touch. We’d love to look at your business goals and suggest a brand strategy to help you grow!