Because it's your company's unique footprint, your business card, and the way that you represent yourself to the world, your present and potential audience or customers. With a great branding /visual identity, you have the power to set your own mark, be memorable, make an impact, and be seen in your own authentic way.
Your potential customers judge you based on how you appear online and in print. A great
first impression is therefore often a determinant factor of how your business will go. By upkeeping your visual identity, you create trust, fellowship, and exclusivity. With an authentic systematic visual identity throughout all your platforms, your customers will recognize you in the crowd, trust your company, value more, remember you and come back for more. More deals for you!
Branding definition
“A brand is a name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers” (American Marketing Association).
Let me give you a comparison that most of us are familiar with and can relate to, a job interview so that you can see the differance:
Scenario 1:
Imagine that you arrive at a job interview in an office in your sweatshirt and jogging pants and your hair washed but hanging flat. Why? Because that is maybe how you normally dress, feel good in, or are comfortable right now. What kind of a message are you then sending off to your potential employer? Are you representing yourself professionality and showing your best attributes or something else? Are you showing to the potential future employer that you have done the research about their company and are the right fit to represent it? Even if you have the right job qualifications, the motivation to do the job well, and great ideas that would benefit the company, the first impression is what counts the most.
Scenario 2:
You arrive at the same job interview dressed in clothes that show yourself who you are authentically in a professional surrounding, that you also feel great in. You may have taken on advice from someone who understands who you are, what you stand for and are capable of, and about various company cultures. The person helped you to choose the right clothes, and colors, taught you how to style your hair, which product to use, couched you in having the right mindset during the interview and your nearest future ahead during various job-related circumstances, interview techniques, relaxation techniques and how to show of authentically who you are without overshining the circumstances. You are this time up for the occasion. You also have several sets of clothing for future meetings as well and are well prepared for the new start. The interviewers like your appearance, so they call you for the next round of interviews. You make sure to show up with your new visual identity again. This time you now feel even more relaxed and prepared for what is to come. It’s because you have the basics covered feeling more relaxed than otherwise, confident, and in your ethos. You don’t have to choose the clothes again and learn how to take care of your hair. You get the job! Your branding/visual identity highlighted your strengths in a stylish, attractive, charismatic, and personal way. You were able to focus on what matters the most- to show off your personal strengths, your skills, and knowledge and that you are the right fit for the job. You fit in right in the crowd making the interviewers more at ease, and at the same time, you exceeded their expectations. By doing so you evoked a curiosity of if this went so great, what better is to come…
Through your visual identity, you created your brand and your reputation that you continue to nourish and enjoy the fruits thanx to it during upcoming events. You continue to show up feeling great, looking representable, and having the peace of mind to focus on the job that you feel passionate about which in turn leads to new revenues.
Show Your company's strengths and become recognizable
In a similar manner, a professional uniform impression / your branding shows your company's strengths and impresses your customers. Your customers will recognize you and thus be more likely to trust your company and shop, and sign deals more frequently. It will also be easier to charge for your services what they are worth.
A visual identity/branding can be created for a company, its products, and the visual appearance of the people who represent it. That is also often why companies search for employees who represent their company’s culture and values. A product can be anything from a hotel stay, a flight, a language course, services provided to other companies or private people, to clothes, food, a toothbrush, etc. A part of branding can be the common language, common fraises messaged across such as slogans or the ethics, mottoes of a company that it can become famous for. A visual representation of a brand is at its best seen across all the companies’ platforms online, print, and wherever the receivers aye reach where it matters. You have probably noticed product placement while watching a movie in the cinema. You may have liked the computer, watch the fabulous car, game that the actor/ actress was wearing or using. Many companies and their products have become famous and are being recognized due to their strong profiling and branding. Its product, representatives, and the company itself have presented themselves to you in an enticing or seducing way showing what they stand for awakening your curiosities or desire to have it. It was done by studious strategical analyzing and planning.
Everyone remembers a good logo often not only because of the logo itself but of the way that it has been presented and the values that it is associated with. It’s often not the logo itself that is a good logo. Instead, it is called a good logo because of its power to be memorable because of the way that has been displayed to the viewer. The color schemes that a company chooses to use together with the logo, the written text, the company’s specific style of using language explaining what a company offers and its values and the design and layout of marketing materials together combine a visual identity. The way that the company decides to display itself to the viewer together with good customer service, trustworthy products, successful marketing, etc. determines how far the company will go.
Basics platforms/ ways of displaying a company (and its visual identity, that all follow the same symbiosis):
- Company logo (can be several different variants to be used depending on the circumstances)
- A tailored UI- and UX-friendly website with a great SEO (Search engine optimization)
- Facebook, Linkedin other social media company accounts with authentic posts
- Business cards, brochures, posters, flyers
- Letterheads with the logo
- Email settings displaying the brand identity
- Merchandise (depending on what kind of business it is; bags, pens, mints, print on cars, t-shirts, etc.)
- Office or serving spaces interior within the ethos of the branding ( displayed logo, an office that looks need and functions for serving purposes of the customer, work needs and entices the performance of employees. If you work alone in your company or are a virtual nomad, create an environment, even if it’s a small space, representing your brand identity and motivating you. Especially important for the Zoom meetings. Remember, even if the others cannot see it, you can feel it, which in turn is going to impact your work)
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We at Maja´s Projects will gladly help you with your company's brand development with a sense of form and with thought and analysis. Are you ready to be seen and noticed?