Your brand is the “face” of your company. You need to choose a company name, logo, font, colors, and other design elements that reflect the identity you want to portray, or work with a branding expert who can help you combine these elements.
To fully develop your brand, you will also need to define your Unique Selling Proposition (USP). A good USP sets you apart from your competition and clearly differentiates your business. It defines the benefit of your product or service in a clear, concise statement. Think of what makes your service a “unique, must have” item. An ideal USP creates emotion and implies action.
Once you have defined your brand, you need to be very consistent with it across all marketing mediums (business cards, website, brochures, promotional items, advertisements, etc.).
The colors you choose, the font, and the messaging all create an emotional response with your audience. Be sure to communicate your value and USP in all of your marketing collateral and in your communications with clients and prospects. Be consistent so that each “touch” with a prospect or client resonates and builds on the last touch.
Here is a short Brainstorm Exercise we use with our clients to get some of the ideas and emotions they have about their business down on paper:
- Write down a few words that describe the benefits of your business
- Image the emotion you want people to feel as they look at your branding (website, logo, marketing collateral)
- Describe your company and your service – write your elevator pitch
- Do you have a preference for certain colors, or , alternatively colors you want to avoid?
- Describe the attributes of your target market (Remember, marketing isn’t about what you like, it is about what your target market likes)
- Do you have a tag line or slogan? Does it elicit emotion from your target market?
- What adjectives best describe your brand?
Do you have any tips that helped you define your brand? Please share!