Your brand identity is more than just a logo

If your business were a being, your branding is your heart and soul. It’s your colour palette, your tone of voice, your imagery and more importantly your consistency. It’s how people are left feeling after they interact with your brand, whether it’s an online purchase, an instagram scroll or an in store experience.

A cohesive brand will help your audience gain an understanding of who you are, why you’re different, and what you’re trying to achieve; in turn this will create trust and loyalty. If your brand looks amateur or inconsistent, you’ll likely lose customers or clients, which ultimately results in loss of sales.

For your business to flourish, you need a brand that speaks to your audience. It shouldn’t be defined as one simple asset like a logo design or business card. Most brand designers understand the importance of this and will provide you with the tools (likely in the form of a Style Guide) to move forward with a complete brand identity you can apply to every asset of your business as you grow and evolve.

This is the mindset you need if you want to launch your business with a bang. Crunching the numbers can be daunting when you have so many startup expenses, but your branding will always be the first point of contact with all your customers, so it’s important to get it right from the start. If penny pinching is a non-negotiable, chat to a designer about it, because the last thing we want to see you do is revert to the dreaded ‘f’ word (fiverr).

Repeat to self: My branding is an investment that will help my business grow and attract my IDEAL clients.

There are a number of things you need to think about and questions you should be able to answer to ensure you’re set up for success. Below are some important aspects you need to think about whether you’re about to launch your business or you’re an existing business looking to refine your current brand direction. You’ll also find these points covered in my Branding Worksheet I provide before I start the research and design phase of your branding project.

4 essential makings of a strong brand:

Clarify your purpose

Make sure your niche is clear and understand your ‘why’. Why is someone going to purchase your product or service over your competitor? What makes you different from everyone else in your industry? Why do you believe in your product/service? And if you don’t think you have any competitors, think again…

Identify your audience

When someone tells me their target market is ‘most Australian’s’, we have a problem. Your target market is far from just an age bracket or gender. It could be location based, spending habits, income brackets, purchase behavior, social status etc. This is critical to identify to ensure your branding is targeting the right people who will hand over their hard earned cash. You know the term ‘strong sense of self’? Well, this is your brand’s version!

Ensure consistency

A brand designer should be thinking big picture and a branding project should allow you to visualise how your brand can grow. Your brand should be instantly recognisable through all its visuals (website, social media, etc), not just through your logo. Consistency is also important in non-tangible brand aspects like tone of voice and customer interaction. Consistency is super-duper important for creating a credible and professional brand appearance.

Create a memorable experience

You know when you receive your online delivery and it comes with incredible layers of packaging, beautiful branded flyers and a hand written note? It leaves you feeling so happy and satisfied that you take a snap to share with your girlfriends. You remember the feeling it gave you so you keep going back for more. Or, when you walk into the Apple store and play with their new toys for hours – that’s a 10/10 brand experience and you usually end up being a customer for life. On the flip side, a negative brand experience will leave a sour taste and you’ll whine to everyone you know.

Ready to invest in your branding and make an impact? See more work or get in touch and let’s chat!