A brand: Do you have one? Do you need one? ABSOLUTELY

Branding is one of, if not the most, important aspect to any business. Whether your business is big or small, sells products or services, B2B or B2C an effective brand will tell people who you are, what you do and how well you do it.

The benefits that a well thought through brand can bring can be the same as falling in love; when someone connects emotively with your brand, through shared values and beliefs, it leads to loyalty, advocacy, brand recognition and as a result higher sales.

As The Economist has reported “Brands are the most valuable assets many companies possess. But no one agrees on how much they are worth or why.” Strong brands inspire loyalty, but we can’t always hang our hat on exactly how they do it!

So what is your brand?

Your brand tells the story of who you are, your promise to your customers. It’s a symbol of your quality, your values, your intent. So it’s important to get it right, to give it some thought and be honest. Ask yourself:

• What is the mission of your company?
• What are the benefits of your services?
• What do existing customers think of you?
• What qualities or values, do you want to be associated with your company?

This wont be an overnight job, but is well worth it and will make a real difference to your business.

Tell everyone

Don’t keep it a secret – once you have got your brand down you need to get it out there. But how?

Consistency is everything. To have a recognised and trusted brand you need to use the same things EVERYWHERE over and over again.

Business cards, flyers, banners Print Inc.

So first CREATE A GREAT LOGO, and use it, on everything, everywhere.  Beginning to showcase your brand starts with your logo, which to be effective, must be used throughout all of your communications, promotional materials, packaging and work wear.

Develop alongside this BRAND STANDARDS for all of your materials: Use the same colour scheme, logo placement, look and feel of images, style of language (e.g. formal or more chatty!). You don’t need to be fancy just consistent.

Think about using it on:

• Business cards
• Marketing info – flyers, posters, pop-up stands, e-mails, newsletters, website, social media
• Workwear – uniforms, jumpers, shirts, pin badges – whatever your industry you don’t have to be in a full uniform to have branded workwear that will improve your brand recognition.
• Stationary – use it on your pens, paper, letterheads

Secondly, remember to tell your staff. Write down your brand messaging and make sure your employees know this and integrate this into how they communicate with your clients and each other. If your brand is everywhere, on their work wear and even the stationary this will infinitely help them to remember!

So should you have a brand?

Absolutely, and if you’re still wondering why think about this: A brand exudes credibility, a brand makes you look bigger, a brand makes you more memorable and a brand brings you more of your target customers.

Need help?

Here at Print Inc. we’re passionate about and understand the importance of branding a company. We provide a one-stop shop service where our clients can meet all of their branding needs.

So don’t hesitate to get in touch.