Is your business irresistible? You need a brand that really works for you, capturing what you’re all about and compelling the right people to take action. Your brand should help you to stand out, inspire confidence in your business and make you feel proud that this business is YOURS – and it should be memorable for all of the right reasons.
So how do you go about this? How do you reach out into the sea of people who are rushing about their day not giving two hoots about yours, and make them take notice?
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It’s about being intentional – a word I am loving at the moment – making decisions within your business that count for something. When you come to look at your business image, don’t settle for second best, for the free website template or the stock logo, do the groundwork and make sure that your business image is unique to you, that it will grow with your goals and that it reflects your values and ambitions and is something you are proud enough to show off and that resonates with the right people – your ideal clients.
– Work out what you do
– Work out who you do it for
– Work out why you do it
– Work out your business values
– Work out what your touch points are
Then work out how you can convey aaaaalllll of this at each touchpoint
This is your moment to work out what it is that makes your business different. So you need to ask yourself some more questions! This is fun! Put the kettle on, grab a biscuit and lets get going:
Think about:
What do your clients love about what you do? Dig out some testimonials, or find your phone and give them a call. This should make you feel great.
What makes you most excited about what you do? Do you love a particular aspect of it?
How are you different to your competitors? If you don’t know, then spend some time taking a look at who they are and what you do differently to them.
Who are your best clients? These are the one who you most love working with, who really value what you do and who make you the most money – without quibbling over the cost. Check out this post to work out who they are.
What is the problem that you are solving for your clients? What issue is keeping them up at night that you are fixing?
Spend some time thinking about what you want your new brand identity to be. Write this down.
How do you want people to feel when they think about your business, or when they visit your website, or when they walk into your shop?
Think about your values. You can download a worksheet for this here.
RESEARCH
Now that you have some clarity about your business and what you want your brand to be, go and look for some inspiration. This bit is fun, you can spend some time on Pinterest, or you can go and grab a load of magazines and create a mood board. Have a look at the things that grab you. What do you like about them? Could you use what you’ve found for your own business, and would it work? What elements could you carry forward? Perhaps you like the shape of a button from one place and the font from another, perhaps there’s a colour palette that you feel drawn to, or a photograph that makes you feel just how you want your clients to feel. Don’t forget to look at logos too, you need an entire arsenal of items to help you create the perfect brand, so be thorough. Are you noticing any patterns in the images that you’re choosing? Don’t forget to take a look at all the work you did previously and see if you can find anything that fits with what you’re looking for – maybe a style that evokes your values, an image that reminds you of something that you do well or something that you feel has the personality that you want to create in your own brand identity.
If part of creating your brand involves creating a logo, then my top tips are:
- – if you can, hire someone who knows what they’re doing and can create all of the right files and formats – if not…– keep it simple
- – less IS more – you can use the other elements of your brand to help convey more, you don’t need to include EVERYTHING in your logo– don’t use a font that’s really hard to read
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Useful links:
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Once you have everything together you’ll need to go over it carefully. Do all the different elements work well together as well as individually? If not, then what can you tweak to make sure that they do work, or what can you try instead. Once you’ve made all of these important decisions you’ll need to ensure that each element is perfect. You don’t want wonky lines and uneven lettering – unless this is the image you’re aiming for. Check back to the answers you wrote down earlier to make sure that you’re not veering off course. You’ll also need to make MORE decisions to help you use your new brand CONSISTENTLY. So decide on any rules you’re going to stick to – using green for headings, always including your logo bottom right, adding that element in at that position… these guides will help you to be intentional with each piece of content.
MAKE IT HAPPEN
Once you have everything ready, you’re ready to put your brand out there. Update your website and you social media headers, change any existing colours and fonts and create beautiful graphics that the right people will resonate with.