Do you have a good logo that represents your brand really well?
If so, you’re ahead of many businesses.
Not all businesses have ideal logos.
Sometimes businesses adopt a logo that doesn’t really match the organization, but they use it anyway.
If you’ve created a good logo, you might also consider that logo to be your brand.
However, by itself, your logo isn’t your brand.
A logo can be part of your brand, but your brand is much more than your identifying marker.
Your brand is what your company stands for; it’s how people experience your company and what people think of when they see or interact with your business.
In other words, your brand is the energy you put out into the world that others pick up on and come to know you by.
While you can guide the general perception of your business, you can’t always control everything.
This is why even the most perfect logo can’t be a substitute for having a good brand.
Having a memorable logo is important since you want people to recognize your logo when they see it. Your logo tells people when they’re interacting with you on social media, out in the world, and can provide reassurance when people see your ads.
However, a memorable logo design is only part of your brand. Building a brand is literally the same as building a personality, only, you’re building that personality for your business. To build a strong brand, you’ll need to figure out what your company stands for, what ideals you want to adopt as a company, and develop your image accordingly.
Creating a strong brand takes time and money, so get ready to put in the effort. If you’re new to developing your brand, here are a handful of ideas to start.
Since your brand will come with a variety of perceptions, some outside of your control, these strategies can help you create your brand around the image you want to present to the world.
Everything first begins as a thought in your mind. From there, as you flesh out your ideas and take various actions, ideas become real things in the world. For example, this is how businesses are built and how art projects come to live. Your brand image is no different.
Take some time to think about exactly what you want your brand image to convey about your business. What image would you like to project into the world? How would you like people to perceive your organization?
Do you want to be seen as philanthropic? Dedicated to an important cause? Generous? Kind? Determined to make a difference in the world? Maybe you just want to be seen as unique or creative?
Whatever you want your image to be, think about how that would look in the world. What will people say about you when you project this image? How will they react? How will your image affect your sales? Take everything into consideration and think through various scenarios until you have a good mental image of the image you’d like to project.
From there, write everything down and come up with a solid vision for who you’d like your business to be in the world.
Once you know how you’d like to present yourself to the world, make a plan to embody that image. For example, if you want to project the image of being a philanthropic organization, find causes and organizations you can commit to supporting.
If your goal is to be seen as innovative and creative, make a plan to continually innovate in your business. If your goal is to be seen as trendy, come up with ways to stay on top of current trends and apply those trends in your business.
Align your entire way of being to your brand. This includes your outward, public actions, private actions, and your company culture.
One of the most important aspects of building a brand is to embody your brand throughout your training process. It’s important to teach new hires about the image you wish to project to the world, but it’s imperative that your business systems align with, and embody your brand through the training process.
For example, if you stand for respect, transparency, and clear communication, your training program should embody these traits. You’ll want to make sure trainees can provide you with open, honest feedback with absolute respect for their perspectives and experiences.
When you embody your brand from the inside out, you know it’s genuine.
Many brands project an image that only applies outside of their company, and it doesn’t take long for word to get around that the company doesn’t really match their projected values.
One of the most important things to do when building your brand is to pay attention to how others perceive and talk about your brand. While it’s true that you can’t please everyone, and there will always be people who don’t get what you stand for, you can learn from what others are saying.
For instance, regularly read negative online reviews about your company to find out if customer/public perception doesn’t match the image you wish to project. Whenever you find a negative trend or pattern, look into it and see if there’s anything you can change.
When building your brand, always ask for feedback from your teams. Your team members are on the front lines talking with customers, handling problems, complaints, and returns.
You need to know how your customers are perceiving your brand. To get this information, your team members are going to be the best source for feedback.
The easiest way to build your brand is to hire a professional marketing agency. If you need to develop your brand, we can help!
At Dev.co , our team of professional branding specialists can help you create or further develop a strong brand for your company.
When you work with us, we’ll get a clear image of how you wish to be seen in the world and then come up with ideas to align your business with your ideal brand identity in all that you do. For instance, we’ll help you embody your brand through your customer interactions, company culture, sales, and marketing.
If you’re ready for your company to represent who you are in the world, contact us today to connect with our team of brand strategy consultants.
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