It can be confusing and overwhelming running a business, especially with the amount of services you think you need right away and then there’s some areas of business that you’re not sure apply to you or not, branding often being one of them.
Some small businesses when they hear the term ‘branding’ feel it doesn’t apply to them, what runs through there head, and this may have run through yours too, is that:
‘My business is too small to be a brand’
‘I can think about my branding once I’m making money’
‘Branding only matters for businesses that are going to be famous’
The truth is branding matters from the very moment you decided you’re going to run a business, it matters if it’s just you or a company with multiple employees. These preconceived thoughts above can restrict how much you’re willing to learn about branding and therefore will most likely restrict the growth of your business.
Not you though right? That’s why you’re here, you keep seeing and hearing the term branding and are wondering if it is something you should be looking into to help your business progress.
Let’s get the number one basic out of the way, branding is not just your logo and colour palette. Branding is an experience you create and how you make your people feel when they connect with your vision, values, voice and visuals.
The four v’s of branding:
Vision - This is the story of where you see your business going, who do you want to help, what change do you want to make, what inspires you, who are your dream customers.
Values - what morals are important to your business, what makes you different?
Voice - What does your brand personality sound like, what is the message you are trying to spread?
Visuals - How do you want your brand to look and feel and does your visuals align and reflect with your vision, values and voice?
These four v’s work together to form your brand, can you see how being clear and consistent with these elements will make your marketing easier, you will know what the purpose of your messaging is, you will know what language to use to show the personality of your brand and form connections with your dream customers, you logo, colour palette and any other visuals can stay aligned with the feel of you brand.
Being aware that your business is the body and your brand is the soul is important in connecting you to others, making you stand out and growing a loyal audience. There’s so
many incredible businesses out there really shining a light on what makes them different that if you don’t learn the foundations of your brand and learn what makes you stand out you will be swept under the currents barely noticed.
So what are the first steps you can take to build a meaningful and memorable brand?
Don’t fall into a pit of comparison and change or create your colour palette and logo based on your competitors or a trend you have seen, look at the foundations of your business first so your visuals can truly reflect your brand and attract the right people.
Delve into the foundations of your brand to gain clarity and focus, giving you a clear understanding of what your vision is, what has inspired you and who you’re trying to help.
Know what makes you different, know what shared values you and you’re dream audience has and make sure these are used in your marketing to make emotional connections with your audience.
Use the right tone of voice for your audience, what will they connect with, be clear on the message you are trying to get out there.
Your visuals should be created once you’re clear on the above. Your logo, colour palette and any other design elements should be meaningfully created to tell your brands story and attract your dream audience.
Branding is much more complex than you first think but is crucial in the success of your business and should be thought about carefully from the get go, though it’s never too late to go back and build on these foundations or revisit them over time.
What are you waiting for uncover the meaning and story of your brand, it will make marketing so much easier, fill you with confidence, direction, focus and purpose. The motivation you feel when you remember your why is really powerful.
Have a think about how you can improve you brand. If you need help gaining clarity on the foundations of your brand or creating the most meaningful and attractive brand appearance we would be more than happy to have a chat.