Creating a memorable impression on customers and prospects is tough, but can be made easier with the help of a strong brand! But what is a strong brand?
A strong brand is easily identifiable, memorable, and consistent.
Many organizations spend a lot of time and hard work establishing the look of their brand (logos, fonts, colors) as well as the identity of their brand (values, employees, goals). However, where many businesses fail is in their brand consistency, and that's a problem.
If you're involved in the marketing of your business you're probably aware of the various channels in which you can promote your brand, some of which include:
Physical Channels
Print Materials
Signs & Banners
Promotional Products
Branded Apparel
Office & Storefront Design (wall wraps, vehicle wraps, etc.)
Billboards
Digital Channels
Your Website
Social Media (Facebook, Instagram, etc.)
TV Ads
Digital Advertising
Apps
Although each of these channels serves a specific purpose, it's extremely important that the look and feel of your brand is seamless across platforms. For example, if you send out direct-mail, the messaging and look of your branding should be the same as your website landing page. The idea of brand consistency is to keep customers and prospects engaged.
When your branding is different across platforms it confuses prospects and makes it even harder to reinforce your brand, which in turn makes it more difficult to gain their trust. What seems like a simple mistake can actually turn out to be a huge drain on your business.
So how do you fix an inconsistent brand?
Step 1: Brand Analysis
Fixing an inconsistent brand can be tough, but typically the first step is to perform a brand analysis. A brand analysis is a deep dive into who you are and what makes you unique. It takes into account your business values, logos, fonts, colors, and employees in order to help you paint a picture that resembles who you truly are.
Step 2: Identify Goals
Your goals will ultimately determine what marketing channels are going to be the most important to your brand. For example, a business looking to drive online sales will be much more reliant on its website and social media than a business looking to boost visitors to their storefront.
Even though every business is unique, typically the basis of any brand nowadays revolves around two main components: Your website and your print materials.
Step 3: Fix Your Channels
Because consolidating your look & feel across platforms can be so time-consuming, I recommend hiring the right marketing company to assist you, and I don't say that because I do it for a living but for 3 key reasons:
Marketing experts are efficient, we do this work all the time and know the right questions to ask when performing a brand analysis and consolidation, this saves you time!
Marketing experts understand the channels! Many companies get signed up for marketing channels that they don't need or have time to manage (especially social media platforms). Outdated marketing content or inactive profiles is a bad look, and makes it harder for prospects to verify your trustworthiness. We help you strategically select the most effective marketing channels
Marketing experts provide ongoing support. This is probably the most important reason to hire a marketing company to assist you with your brand. In a day and age where digital algorithms are constantly changing and websites need constant maintenance and security, you can't beat the value of having a team in your corner that has your back on an ongoing basis. My favorite part of doing business with clients is building a strong relationship with their team, I love knowing that the services our team provides make their lives easier and business stronger!
Daniel Marr is the Director of Business Development for NWPC Marketing Solutions, a team of marketing experts dedicated to helping you achieve your goals and BOOST your brand! Our awesome team strives to build a culture of trust and commitment and work side-by-side with businesses as advisors and consultants.