Branding is one of the most important aspects of running a business. You’ve worked hard to conceptualize your business, and you want it to have a unique personality. The best way to give your business a voice is through effective brand development.
Why Your Brand Matters
Your company’s brand is more than the products or services you offer— and is WAY more than a logo. Believe it or not, designing your identity should be one of the final steps of brand development! A brand is the physical and emotional identity of your company. This is on the front lines of marketing and will be the primary interaction between the company and potential consumers. That is why it’s crucial to develop a well-rounded and unique branding identity.
How Do You Develop a Brand?
Here at Gatorworks, we know how important this step is in the life cycle of a business. When you’re working on brand development for a new or existing project, there are a few tricks that will help you along your journey. We’ve compiled a list of tips to help you get started on developing your brand.
The Golden Circle
How can people want what it is you’re selling if you don’t know the why behind it? Before you begin developing your brand, it’s a good idea to figure out what drives your company. Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle mindset is a good starting point. The Golden Circle dissects your company’s purpose into three sections: what, how, and why. The Golden Circle begins with “why” and works itself into “why.” Take a look at what these key points will look like for your brand.
What: Products sold and services offered
How: Your strengths, values, and guiding principles
Why: Your purpose, cause, or belief
Identifying your company’s “cause” creates a strong foundation for building a brand. But what comes next?
Identify a Target Audience
Identifying your target audience can help you with establishing a distinct brand identity. Once you know who you’re trying to sell to, developing a voice for your brand will become easier. The easiest way to identify your target audience is by creating buyer or user personas. A buyer persona is a primarily fictional profile for a possible consumer. Base your personas on actual research to make the most accurate representation.
Give Your Brand a Voice
You’ve established your company’s purpose and target audience. Now what? Now, you can give yourself a unique voice. Your voice can be anywhere from professional to nurturing. What’s Important is that your voice speaks to your target customers. Establishing a voice will make things like writing blog posts and social media copy easier down the line.
Design Your Brand Identity
Now that you’ve identified your company’s purpose, target audience, and voice, you’re ready for the fun part! Designing your company brand identity combines the previous tips to create a recognizable visual identity. This process can be tedious on your own. That’s why many companies decide to commission a design agency. Here is a closer look at what that process looks like.
- Logo: Keep your logo relevant to your brand. Your logo is the embodiment of your brand’s voice, mission, and purpose. When designing your logo, make sure to keep it conceptually relevant to these things.
- Colors: Make sure you choose colors that align with your company’s voice and goals. If your voice is professional, you’ll want to avoid a color palette that comes off as whimsical.
- Typefaces: Choose a collection of typefaces to use across your branding. It’s a good idea to keep the number of font options down to no more than five. You want to have a typeface for headers and subheaders.
- Consistency: Use the same colors and typefaces across all your branded material. Remember, consistency is key. Using strict branding guidelines will help you develop a solid and recognizable brand. Buyers often gravitate towards what is familiar to them. A consistent voice and image will help you keep customers and attract new ones over time.
Keep Things Fresh!
We know this might sound counterintuitive to the most recent section. We’re not suggesting completely changing your branding every two years. It is, however, a good idea to keep up with the times. Like all good things, your brand should only grow finer with time. Keeping up with current branding trends and standards helps your brand stand the test of time.
Ready to Develop Your Brand?
Get in touch! Gatorworks offers a full spectrum of branding and digital marketing services. We’ve worked with a wide variety of industries and can help you find the best options to suit your brand. Contact us today, and let’s work together!