The Myths and Benefits of Brand Identity
By Debra Murphy, Vista Consulting
Your business’s brand identity is an extremely important factor in the success of your business. If that is the case, why do so many small business owners avoid developing a brand for their business? There are three myths that many small business owners believe that can seriously damage their success. This article will provide eight benefits of having a brand developed professionally for your business to counteract those damaging beliefs.
The Myths
- We can design our brand ourselves;
- We can’t afford to have a professional brand developed;
- We don’t need a brand.
We can design our brand ourselves
We have all experienced the effects of a do-it-yourself brand. The owner creates something either themselves or they buy a template on the Internet. What do you think when you are handed a black and white perforated business card? What happens when you get to a web site that looks home made or you’ve seen the design before? Would you trust the company could provide the solution you are seeking?
We can’t afford to have a professional brand developed
It certainly is true that having your company brand and marketing materials designed by a professional firm costs money, but it may cost your business more than a few thousand dollars if you do not have a high-quality, custom brand identity professionally designed. How can you command respect or be taken seriously if you don’t take your brand seriously?
We don’t need a brand
A brand identity is a basic business essential that is central to your marketing effort. This myth is aligned with the myth that your business doesn’t need marketing. No brand is almost as bad as a do-it-yourself brand. Not having a brand makes your business look less than professional. Be objective – would you call your business looking for services if you saw your brand identity?
The Benefits
1. Makes your company look bigger
When someone sees your business cards, materials or web site, what you want them to think is that you are a company that deserves their business. Prospects look for a company that has the resources to help them succeed. They will also expect to pay more for a larger, more established company. If you hand them a home made business card, they will see view you as small and not worthy of their business or the fees that you feel you deserve.
2. Creates an identity that is bigger than you
Many independent professionals that offer consulting or coaching services end up building a brand around themselves rather than the business. In some cases that may be fine, but if you ever want to grow or sell the business, consider developing a brand for the company. A unique brand will be one of the assets that come into play during the sale or acquisition.
3. Helps you stand out from your competition
One of the ways you can separate your business from the competition is to have a unique brand that projects your unique value to your clients. If you provide quality services with attention to detail, your lack of attention to detail in your brand will send a conflicting message to your prospects. Make your brand better than your competition and be sure it projects what you want your prospects to think and feel when they see your materials.
4. Conveys stability in your business
You may be the best, most experienced person in your field, but no brand or a self created brand conveys an impression that the company won’t last. A brand helps you develop an image that says “I’m here to stay” for your business. A brand used consistently in everything you do will project a long term feel to those who see it regularly. It will take a lot less time to develop that stable image with a quality brand than it would without one. Eliminate any question about your viability by having crisp image and clear marketing materials.
5. Ensures consistency in your materials
Developing a brand image will drive consistency with your materials. Once you have a timeless logo and set of marketing materials designed, you can use them for years to come. Any time you need to develop new materials, you know what they will look like. You don’t need to start over and design the new versions of the materials. It saves you time and saves you money. Establishing a clean, high-quality, and consistent look and feel to your materials makes it much easier to gain the trust of potential clients and getting them to pay you what you are worth.
6. Attracts more clients
Let’s face it – people do judge a book by its cover. A quality brand increases the likelihood of someone contacting your business for more information. Unless your brand is black and white for a reason, people are attracted to color, design, imagery, and style. If you want to attract clients, make sure your brand is memorable. If just a couple of new clients call you because they felt your company offers the quality of products or services they are seeking based on the image your logo and brand identity package creates, then your brand will pay for itself.
7. Puts more punch into your marketing programs
If you are going to spend money on marketing, you want to be sure your marketing materials don’t sabotage your efforts. When your marketing program does get a prospect to execute the call to action, don’t risk them bolting for your competitor because your brand scares them away. And, once you have a strong logo, creating consistent, targeted marketing pieces and programs becomes easy.
8. Shows commitment and personal pride in your business.
Investing in a unique and memorable brand identity shows that you are committed. Handing a business card with your unique, professionally designed logo and brand identity will create an impact on your business and enable you to sell your products or services with confidence.
