There are many ways to market your business, but one of the most powerful and successful can be branding it effectively. Capturing potential customers’ attention through effective branding has long been a trait of some of the most successful companies in history. Think of Disney, Apple, IBM, Federal Express, Coca-Cola, and Nike. In fact, so successful is this tactic that in some cases a consumer has to ask: which came first, the customer or the brand?
Simplicity and Memorability Are Key
Successful companies know that simplifying the identification of a company in a marketplace is essential for memorization and recall of a company’s image, qualities and identity. The simpler and more memorable a company’s brand, the easier it will be for a consumer to make a positive choice regarding that brand’s offerings. If a consumer can’t remember the name of a company or its logo or anything about it other than their product or service, that spells trouble for future sales. An identity is essential to accompany and strengthen the idea of a producer or seller as an integrated personality rather than a collective void.
Hiring a Specialist Can Help
Fortunately, many design firms are aware of this truth and have teams of creative staff who specialize in reducing the key themes, commonalities and “story” of a company into a simple, single, powerful image and concept that delivers the message of “who” the company is before a consumer even knows “what” they sell or offer. These firms know that something even as simple as a set of consistently-used colors can immediately get the attention of customers and create more rapid identification of a company’s products, services and marketing materials. As these firms see it, a well-designed logo that’s representative of what a company does along with a logotype that reflects the company’s character can be a very effective way to call attention to its imprimatur. It can send a message that a particular product, package or advertisement carries a valued mark of quality.
Correctly Using Branding
The correct use of branding is just as important as the branding itself. Again, specialists know that where branding is applied and at what size and level of complexity can send just as much of a message as the brand’s form. Often, “brand guidelines” will be drawn up to deliver branding in the best and most powerful light it can be seen in. Overuse of branding can negatively impact a company the same way that underuse of it can. The best brands use their marks judiciously and tastefully.
According to the Arc and Co., a brand is not an end in itself but must become an experience for the user. That’s why some of the smartest companies develop a strong brand identity first, even before they have customers. By doing this, they don’t have to circle back and drill the brand into early adopters’ heads after they develop it. Good branding can become legendary, whereas no branding or bad branding can risk resigning a firm to the equivalent of an unmarked grave.
