Web Site Marketing

It Starts With Branding

I've listened to many people try to describe what "branding" is for a business and with these explanations come lots of arm waving and mystery.  Branding is a very simple concept and does not need to be expensive or difficult to accomplish.  As with all of my business training I start at a basic level because I believe most people have not been shown the fundamentals, they are only shown the complexities. This is why I call my works "The Practical Business".

When a person starts a company they usually have some vision of how they want the company to be seen in the market.  What they want people to feel or think when they see information from the company.  Unfortunately, many companies don't pay sufficient attention to the detail of their brand.

Shape - is the first thing one should pay attention to.  If you have a logo does it look good in black & white so it stands out without color?  Does it say anything about your business and does it tell your story?  Do you think shape is important?  Just ask Nike about their "swish" mark.  They spent millions and perhaps billions of dollars driving that image into our minds and now it is a highly recognized brand.

Color - can be powerful, but it can also be deceiving if your company does much advertising in black & white.  Only use color to enhance an image or shape, don't rely on color to be "the message".

Words - tag lines, mantras, and such all go toward developing your position in the market.  Similar to the shape you select you should use words to quickly tell your story.  You have one sentence with a maximum of 12 words so what can you do with it?  Can you tell someone what you or your company does in twelve words or less?  If you cannot then perhaps some professional help and practice will assist you.

Consistency - comes up in virtually every process in your business, but especially in branding.  We see companies that have business card that does not match their flyers, their letterhead, their web site or their brochure.  This is easy to solve with one small rule - make everything match!  Your business card should match your flyer, your letterhead, your envelopes, your web site, your signs on the office door or your vehicle, and everything else that anyone outside your company can see.  If it goes outside the confines of your office it should be the same consistent look.  No mystery here folks, just common sense.

Part of what you must consider is what you want your prospects to think.  When they see your flyer in the mail or at an event, or you hand them your card, you want them to say, "oh, I recognize this".  If this happens then you've accomplished good branding.

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