The word ‘brand’ has become quite a buzz word; being tossed around a lot by marketing folks. But what exactly is your company’s ‘brand?’ Your company’s visual identity – your logo – is only a part of your company’s brand. A well-built brand connects, supports, and strengthens your company image with your logo. A brand is more than colors and font styles associated with your printed marketing materials.
“Branding is believing in the quality of your product or service and getting your whole company behind it. Your brand is the manner in which you conduct your business.”
Your brand is how you provide your service or product to your customer. Your brand is expressed in the way you answer your phones, format your correspondence, the clothing or uniform your wear – it extends to how you interact with your customer. Your brand is your company message – visually and verbally – at every point of contact, a person has with your company.
A strong brand includes a set of rules, standards, and visuals that must be followed to keep a uniformed, organized and professional image. Think of all the strong brands you know. What comes to mind first? Disney, McDonald’s, FedEx, how about the U.S. Government? By controlling and monitoring all aspects of your company you can control your brand, strengthen it.
A company looking to change its image may undergo a ‘brand makeover’- which doesn’t happen overnight. Brand development should never be treated as a project with a beginning and an end – branding your company is an ongoing process.
Brand development consists of 4 main aspects:
Initial Strategy/ Brand Audit
This is the research and planning that takes into account understanding every aspect of your business, your marketplace, and your customers. We use these insights to formulating a plan for the future.
Overall Identity
This is the outward expression of your company – your brand identity. It is important to think about all the connections between your company and the outside world. Your company identity is an impression based on graphics, interaction, and perceptions.
Ongoing Management
Keeping it all together. This can consist of a guidebook – a set of rules – that governs the company’s brand and image. Management includes meetings with employees and customers regularly to gauge their thoughts and impressions on your company.
Complete Experience
You must continue to monitor and control all connections between your customers and your company. You must make sure your customers are getting a positive experience from working with your company. Every new project that comes up from this point must adhere to strict brand guidelines.
Re-branding is more than designing a new logo or a new brochure. It is a complete experience based on research, analyzing, possible repositioning, and continual management as the brand is strengthened over time. It is important that you control the perception of your company by the outside word including vendors, customers, partners, and even your competition. Let OtherWisz help you design a positive, professional brand that promotes a clear message and understanding of your companies core values. Contact us about starting with a brand audit today.
