Who cares about branding? You should! (Part 2 of 2 + BONUS TIPS)

If you missed the first part find it here.

3. Connection: Association = Motivation to buy.

Associating your brand with a certain genre, culture, or lifestyle, for example, will induce those in that group that your product is the one they should be buying. Basically, think about your target audience; your branding should reflect that.

“Maybe all the take-away coffee cups should be wearing little Hipster frames, so customers know who Spill the Bean’s really is.”

Example: Apple; associated with young, hip students, modern businesses, designers, and just plain fun. Apple’s sales must be through the roof, every man and his dog seem to be sporting an iDevice.

4. Clarity: Communicate your brand clearly.

Let your customers know exactly what you do or what you sell, right from the get go. A detailed, but concise brand image and slogan help customers get what you’re all about immediately, without additional follow-up advertising – a great way to save!

“Spill the Beans: ‘We love great coffee’ (paired with that cute coffee bean logo) – You think maybe they sell coffee?”

Example: Facebook. Your face, in it’s own online book, connecting with other people’s faces. Doesn’t get any simpler than that.

5. Consistency: Have a cohesive design and brand across the board.

If everything associated with your business has the same overarching theme, along with your one and only perfect logo, slogan, aesthetic, etc, there will never be any question whether this product is from you or not. Commit to the perfect branding for you, then stick it on everything – rinse and repeat.

“Let’s put hipster glasses on every bit of branding, that way they know it’s from Spill the Beans, okay?”

Example: Nike. That dang check mark is everywhere. Just do it.

Bonus Round! You get 2 C’s for free!

6. Charity: Do you donate?

Do you? No? Maybe you should start. Charity is a great way to attract perspective customers. If you feel strongly about puppies, and donate to help those adorable fluff balls regularly, odds are others do too! That sense of generous camaraderie might just get you a life long customer – they want to support you, so in turn you can continue to support man’s tiny best friend.

7. Cash: Able to charge more for your products and services.

Everyone likes money, and you’ll be able to get more of it because of your strong, professional branding. Crazy, right? People are willing to spend a bit more if a product looks professional and of good quality. Simply put, someone is more likely to fork out more cash to buy jewelry from the boldly branded, flashy booth at a market fair, than the guy selling similar items out of his coat pockets, near the alleyway.

Example: Benefit. Look at that high-end looking, pin-up branding! Fancy.

Handy Tips to take your branding to the next level!

• Logo – You better know for sure it’s the one for you, because you’ll be seeing it everywhere. Buy it a ring, and make it the center of your branding life. Put it on everything – business cards, invoices, website, ads, billboards, your personal jet…
• Website – Make it great, and up to date (that nearly rhymes). If your products are top notch, your website needs to reflect that professionalism. The last thing you want your website to look like is Doogie Howser’s blog .
• First Point of Contact – Business cards? Website? Signage? Whatever customers see first, make it clear, unique, and memorable.
• Email – NO @hotmail/gmail/bigpond! You might work out of your home office, but customers don’t need to know that. Be professional and get yourself a grown up email (@YourCompanyName.com).
• Blog – Re-purpose info that’s relevant to your business; share information and ideas with customers. It’s a great way to inspire yourself and others. Added Bonus: Google rates websites higher if the content is updated often – get yourself on the first page of a search!

Now with your new found branding knowledge, your business can achieve the success you always knew it could!

Questions? Comments? Sarcastic remarks? We’d love to hear from you!

Are you a total smarty and knew all of these branding tips already, or did you learn something new?

Any other branding tips or methods you swear by? Let us know!

Get even more branding tips here!