There is a reason why companies spend thousands of dollars on their branding, and it’s not just about looking pretty. Branding that’s worth anything, is an investment in one of the fundamental aspects of your business. I urge business owners to stop thinking about branding as just a logo, or just a website, or just an ad…All of these things are part of a foundation that should be cohesive visually through strong graphics, verbiage, and approach to form a unique experience for your customers.

Builds Customer Trust and Loyalty

Great branding is great customer service. When a style is strong throughout a brand, it creates a solid foundation in the way your brand is perceived and remembered by customers. Consistency (not necessarily predictability) weaves a special feeling or experience that connects with your audience. People feel more secure when they know what to expect. When a brand is easily recognizable to customers, it makes it easier for them to process your message quicker. Consistency for the win!

Representation of Quality

After working in an ad agency for nearly two years, I have seen some epic logo atrocities. Put yourself in your potential customers’ shoes for a second. If your logo looks like a pixelated image of a doodle by a third grader, how does that reflect on your product or services? If your website looks and functions like it time traveled into the 90’s, then what does that say about your businesses relevance in today’s world? Assume every piece of your marketing collateral is a first impression. If your branding says “I don’t care…” then how do you expect your customers to care?This rule is the same for book illustration. I have seen countless children’s books that have good writing but because the self publishing author felt the need to rush publication or was on a strict budget, the illustration was total crap. I always feel sorry for the author who put so much time into his book only to have it ruined by low quality or rushed illustrations.

Strengthens Company Culture

That’s right, branding isn’t just for your customers, but there’s also a huge culture factor to it. As a business you produce hundreds of internal documents or collateral, and when you consider branding as an opportunity to strengthen culture you’ll realize even the smallest or less thought about pieces matter in how they reflect your company’s identity such as employee handbooks, manuals, etc…This helps employees understand the vibe of your company and they will be excited to be a part of something that feels bigger than themselves.

Attracts your Best Friend Clients

The law of attraction is a wonderful thing when authenticity is applied. Good branding is more than a logo, it’s an attitude. If your company is a dive bar then you probably won’t be hiring classical orchestras to play Mozart for Johnny the metal head. BUT THAT’S OK. That’s right, you don’t have to be a fancy bar that attracts corporate executives to make money and be successful. It’s ok because Johnny keeps coming back and spending money at your bar, and Johnny brings his friends sometimes too. If you find that you aren’t attracting the right audience it could be because your branding is sending mixed messages or is too bland. Attracting the right clients requires brand boldness to be able to stand in your authenticity.

Helps you Stand out from Competition

Speaking of authenticity, what better way to stand out from your competition than to let your light shine no matter how weird or different you think your business is. Capturing that unique aspect of your business in the visual experience of your branding is like finding gold. While it’s good to have an idea of what your competition is doing, I find that sometimes clients want to be too much like their competition, which only results in blending in and skipped over. Branding is all about how you set your business apart from others, not by focusing on your competition but by focusing on your own business.