18 Jul 2017 Really Good Branding & Why It Matters
We work with hundreds of business customers who operate in a wide range of industries – from haulage, to education, to event management companies.
Through time, we have learnt that people join us not only because we offer an exceptional service (yes, we have been told – thank you to those who have offered us great feedback!) but also because we have organically grown into a recognisable brand in what we do.
Too many underestimate the importance of a good brand, and believe me it is far more than just a good looking logo or a fancy website!
As many business owners know, this is not something easy to achieve. Our logo forms a part of our brand – the colour palette matters, the style, our work ethic, our online and offline presence, our newsletters, and of course, our people, to name a few.
But in just over three years, we love what we have created with One Connectivity. And equally, if not more crucial, we still do. Something which is highly essential to any business – if you fall out of love with your brand, it can be sensed across all platforms. I very much believe you have to remain passionate in what you do to deliver a good job.
For those just starting out – first of all, huge congratulations on taking that first step, and for those hoping to understand how to positively refresh your brand, I, as Marketing Director of One Connectivity, will talk you through some simple steps to get you on your way – beginning with ‘What Is A Brand’?
What Is A Brand?
A brand is the whole package – the experience, the logo, the colours, the images you choose to use, the fonts, the voice, and the way you make a customer feel when they see your brand, plus much more.
To begin, you need to identify who you are and what your business means to create the right look and feel of your corporate identity.
An excellent brand immediately gives me the feeling of trust, high quality and consistency in what they do, and how they do it.
Whether you are starting out or in need of a refresh, write down how you want your brand to look, and feel.
Ask yourself –
- What do we do and what do we sell?
- What is our story?
- What makes us different?
- What is our style?
- What colours work well for me/ us and within my industry?
- Which logo style do we like?
- Where online and offline do we or will we sell my products and/ or services?
- What is our business mission?
- What web style do we LOVE?
- What is our unique voice style?
From here, this will give you a starting point with how you want your logo and brand to look, feel and sound.
We are all unique and with all the work you put into building this, your business should have its own style.
Remember, when competition is high, your standards need to be exactly that to stand above the rest.
Your answers will also allow you or a marketing & design agency help build your business identity. With a good agency, they can create a new logo which you will love and one you can say ‘Yes, this is exactly us!’. But don’t forget, the logo plays only a very small part – a brand is far more than just the logo you put on all of your marketing material.
Why Your Brand Matters
- Your brand is your business – and it should reflect who you are and what you stand for
- Your brand is the first impression you make to any visitor or viewer – it’s your presentation
- Your brand tells your story
- Your brand is your promise
- Your brand helps build credibility and loyalty – for both customers and employees
- Your brand can create a sense of security
- Your brand can drive a higher price point
- Your brand can represent you when you’re not in the room
To those who think a designer can create you a brand in one brainstorming session – well, you certainly need to do a lot more research! A brand takes far longer to build and it has to remain consistent through the coming months and even years. To me, this doesn’t only work with pen to paper – you have to use your heart. It has to connect with you, it has to connect with your team and most definitely, your customers. This is something you have to launch and grow to be very proud of.
Before I joined One Connectivity, I ran a wedding planning business – focusing on high end nuptials. With every event I planned, where possible, I followed the rule of creating an event which touched all five senses, because my desire was to create memorable events – and I now apply this rule to what I do at OC now.
Sight – I want our customers to see a brand they instantly connect with, followed by remembering us
Touch – I want out customers to touch our products, even down to our business cards, and remember the high quality business that we are (I am however quite a GSM snob – I blame it on stunning wedding invitations!)
Hear – Our voice online and offline is so, so vital that we get right. The words we use and the voice of our team means more than just putting a simple sentence together. Being genuine and transparent is highly important to our team. We have also invested in audio branding to ensure professionalism and that the OC branding runs across all platforms. This is something we at One Connectivity can help you with – from office landlines to all of the professional pre-recorded messages and on-hold music and marketing messages.
Taste – Unless we create an OC signature dish, at the moment I am struggling with this – but I’m sure in time we will have our own OC biscuits!
Smell – If I could create ‘scratch and sniff’ on everything we send out to our customers, we sure will have a signature scent too!
What’s Next
Once you have identified the look and feel you want to create, you need to communicate this clearly to your marketing and web designers. An experienced agency can design you various logos to select from, build you a good looking and up to date website which reflects who you are as a business and create stunning stationery and marketing material. Although when starting out, budget may be tight but go for the best you can afford and consider it as essential investment. Trust your instincts when choosing who to work with, and obtain at least 3 quotes. Design and marketing is a creative process and I believe it has to feel right. We never go with a company just because they quoted the cheapest – we choose based on value for money, experience, and whether the designers ‘get us‘. It can be a long process and you must work well together.
Get the foundations right with this and it will be the best investment. Get it wrong, it can be costly in the long run.
We hope this is a great way for me to touch on why we invested time and money, and shall continue to do so on the One Connectivity brand. But equally as important, I hope this will assist those who are currently working on launching a new business, are ready for a refresh or even considering a complete rebrand. Good luck!
And Just One Final Tip…
I once read, a good logo should still look great in black and white.
So, here is ours – five times. Hopefully this makes it five times more likely of you remembering us!!
Joking aside, as you can see, our logo in black and white is still easily recognisable and looks good; in my opinion of course!
