5 Branding Techniques to Create the Right Impression

How Do You Make Your Business Stand Out?

Long-term value - A great reputation often makes the process of attracting new customers that much easier. Highly regarded businesses often find their existing customer base recommend them and draw in other customers.  A good reputation can draw on success stories and anecdotes from delighted customer that in turn reassure new customers to invest their cash in that product/service over another supplier’s.

Build on your real strengths and what engages your customers - When creating your branding, the first step is to think about the strengths of your business offering – the real strengths you have and the ones which customers recognise you for (not ones you wished you had).  If you are just starting out think about your own strengths in previous roles or the qualities that your product or service possesses.  If you’re unsure about the latter, ask your customers what they particularly like or value in what you do.  It is important to build your brand on real strengths rather than aspirational ones, as you are more likely to deliver these now, and over time, to your market.

Creating your ‘visuals’ - Let your market insight and your strengths now influence the visual image you forge for your business offering. Depending on what your business does, your ‘visual’ image will be evident through things like:

• Your logo, stationery, documents (electronic/paper), business cards
• Your website, email appearance, social media sites
• Your packaging
• Yours and your team’s appearance when interacting with customers
• Your premises, signage etc
• Your vehicles

The power of consistency - We humans find reassurance in consistency. Now more than ever with our fast pace lives, consistency is something that’s quite hard to achieve and maintain over time. It impresses us when we see positive examples of consistency and associate it with reliability – even trustworthiness.  If you can be consistent in the application of your image, colours, font, message etc across all your different visuals, people will find it easier to remember your business and may begin to view it as a stable enterprise, worth their investment.

The experience you create - Obviously the visual side is only part of your branding and the phrase ‘mutton dressed up as lamb’ gives a warning. So consider again your strengths. In terms of the experience side of your business what are your:

• Service standards - turnaround times, responsiveness, ability to keep customers informed?
• Communication styles - are you and your people easy to understand? Are your communications clear, free from typos, easy and quick to read?
• Personalities - how personable are you and your people to customers?
• Product or service quality - how faultless is your product or service?  What added value do you deliver within the price people are happy to pay? Are people satisfied with what you deliver?

Avoid undermining your brand - Reputations take time to build but can fall in an instant and, once fallen, they are very difficult to rebuild. So be very careful that your product or service quality isn’t undermined in any way. Find ways to prevent the business offering deviating from the strengths that your customers favour you for.  Remember that what you and your people say and do in other areas can still have a detrimental effect on your business.

Read the full article at: womenunlimitedworldwide

Patty Block, President and Founder of The Block Group, established her company to advocate for women-owned businesses, helping them position their companies for strategic growth. Charting the course for impactful, sustainable, profitable businesses, the beacon is control: of your strategic direction, your money, your time, your staffing, and your ability to bring in business. The Block Group brings together the people, resources and ideas that build results.

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