By Sandra Collins
This blog is about branding.
“Branding” is the marketing term that describes the elements you construct to communicate your company’s image. It includes your logo and other graphic design, your tagline, and how you convey your value proposition (which is called “messaging”).
Branding seeks to influence the impression people will have of your company and what it stands for. In a marketing sense, branding is the first frame of reference people have when encountering your company (your brand). It’s much like the “first impression” you get of people when you meet them.
With both branding and your overall marketing communications, your company’s first impression will be much better if you work to consciously craft what people see when they interact with you. You want to be sure your brand appeals to your prospects so that you are considered during the buying process.
Let’s talk about why branding and the image you convey are important.
- Fit. Ultimately, buying decisions are made in a type of “sales funnel” that brings prospects through a process of understanding your value and judging if it’s a fit with what they want. The first impression a prospect forms about your company and whether you may be a fit most often begins with the image you are conveying with your branding. For example, do you appear professional? Knowledgeable? Savvy? Informed? If your image isn’t a positive fit, people may not listen to what you have to say.
- Limited time. These days, everyone is busy. If the image you convey is weak, there will be prospects who will rule you out solely based on that, as they won’t have the time or inclination to find out more about doing business with you. “Weak” is anything that doesn’t meet buyers’ expectations. With small-business marketing, this tends to occur most often with branding and communications that aren’t very credible or aren’t as professional as your target market expects; for example, an amateurish logo or grammatical errors in your content. If your messaging is weak, busy prospects won’t take the time to figure out what you’re trying to say. However, note that if your products and services are seen as weak, that’s a much more important priority to address than improving your marketing.
- Competition. A very compelling reason your branding is important is that people usually have a lot of choice in suppliers, and the image you convey is one of the factors people use in making their decisions. In short, you’re competing with your competition’s branding, especially if you are a small business and are challenged with fewer resources than your competition.
As an example of conveying a positive image, let’s say you’d like to contract with an accountant for your business. You go to a networking event and there you meet two accountants. One is dressed professionally*, takes a genuine interest in your needs, is able to articulate his or her expertise, and provides you with information about his or her practice. (*I’ll admit I dislike the fact that appearance makes such a difference in the choices most of us make, but I’d be silly to believe that’s not true.)
The second accountant is the opposite of the first.
Which of the two are you more likely to consider as a supplier?
Further, let’s say the second accountant writes down the URL of his or her website for you. You already have the first accountant’s website address on the (professional-looking) business card or handout provided. You check out both websites. The first accountant’s website is straightforward, articulate, and provides all of the information you seek as you consider hiring an accountant. The second website is unattractive, confusing, and gives you very little of the information you want to know.
Again, which of the two are you more likely to consider as a supplier? In the case of the second accountant’s website, how likely is it that you will spend the time to read through it, or contact them directly, if the website doesn’t inspire confidence?
When reviewing your branding, think about your target market. (Read more about target markets here.) What do the members of your target market expect to see? Talk to some people you trust who have characteristics of your target market. Ask them, if they were considering buying what you sell, how would they describe:
- Your logo
- Your tagline (if you have one)
- The clarity and impact of your messaging (the way you describe your company and what you offer)
- The design of your website (both the graphic design and the navigation)
- The information on your website (or whatever method you use to provide information to people)
The key question is: Would they be compelled to look more closely at doing business with you?
Discussing your branding with others is important because sometimes you are too close to it to really have an objective viewpoint. Getting input on how others see you – especially relative to your competition – will help you to think about how you can make improvements to your branding that will appeal to your prospects and improve your consideration rate (the rate at which you are seen as a possible supplier during the buying process), garnering more customers.