The Personality of Branding
Pinpoint your Personality!
The one thing that pretty much every company needs is branding. Without it, you’re running around in the dark, hoping somebody buys your product/service while having no idea who they are or why they would want to buy from you. Branding gives companies a face and puts a name to the products or services they sell.
Even if you don’t have a brand, your company should look professional and clean. Your logo should be simple enough for people to remember easily, but not so simple that it seems completely generic. Several websites have logos that anyone can go onto and purchase, but first, you must decide what your company is going for.
If you want a modern logo, go with one that has some circle or square around it. If you’re looking for something more traditional, go with the typefaces and colors that are more on the conservative side.
If you like the idea of having your logo, you must know what the different parts of the logo mean. For instance, there is always an image used in all symbols. This image should represent whatever business you’re in or whatever it is that you do. You can also put your initials in the logo if you don’t want it to be so literal.
Logos
When designing your logo, it should be simple but also unique enough so people will recognize it as yours. If somebody says, “oh! I love what XYZ company did with their logo,” you don’t want to have to say, “what logo? That looks like every other generic logo out there.” Make your company stand out.
Once you pick the colors and font, do not stray from it! This goes back to knowing your target audience to understand what you want the logo to say and look like. If you pick a color scheme, make it consistent across your branding (business cards, posters, etc.)
It is also essential that when creating your logo or picking one that you don’t use any clip art or images that could be offensive in any way. Also, it’s a good rule of thumb to keep your logo on the smaller side. It looks better that way and will also help with its recognition.
Next time you need a new business card or another branded item, make sure the branding is consistent and top-notch!
What Does the Branding Say to Your Target Audience?
Overall Appearance
Basically, branding is the promise, unique to your business and your business alone, that you have made to your target audience
How you have branded your company is how it will appear to the public and your clients.
Building the Brand
Building a good reputation with the public and keeping that promise you’ve made to the target audience is a crucial building block for a strong brand. Keeping promises and building that reputation makes more clients and prospective clients gain trust in you and want to turn to your company for their needs. Creating a brand-new company and building this reputation is crucial to its success.
Your Logo and Tone of Voice:
How you want clients to perceive you, as well as your tone of voice in general. Consistency is key when it comes to the tone of voice and logo. Once you have chosen a specific color scheme, style, and so on that gives your company a confident personality, you do not want to ever stray from that!
You can’t just pick something you like; your company’s brand is the sum of all promises and expectations that you make to your target audience.
Building a good reputation and keeping those promises and expectations with your target audience is one of the most significant building blocks of a strong brand — if not THE biggest — for companies, businesses, and entrepreneurs. Keeping promises builds trust between business owners and their clients or prospective clients.
This builds more clients and prospects over time, which grows your company’s bottom line exponentially. A crucial part in keeping promises is understanding what your brand actually ‘says’ to your targeted market- the value proposition- the commitment you have made to them, usually by way of slogan or tagline on some level: “the ultimate driving machine” -(BMW), “Just do it”- (Nike), “Because you’re worth it”- (L’Oreal), etc.
According to a white paper by Entrepreneur University, a value proposition is a statement of how you plan to help your target audience- what problems you will solve for them. That’s not all, though: “To create a successful brand or product, entrepreneurs must understand their target market and be able to articulate the needs of those consumers.”
To break it down even more straightforward, if your company had a slogan on some level along the lines of “we bring people together” as in Angie’s List, then that would be part of your value proposition because your company promises that they can help connect people with products or services that benefit them.
Below is a list that CEOs, small business owners, and entrepreneurs can use to examine their own company’s value proposition. Ask yourself what your brand says about the world you aim to build for your target market. Then go back and look at how accurately your brand reflects that vision, according to this list:
It’s essential to identify these attributes because they’ll help you maintain a competitive edge.
Help vs. Hurt
Businesses that do good (help) can include TOMS Shoes or Patagonia (buys one get one free for charity); tobacco producers or similar companies might analogize businesses that hurt. Ask yourself: does our company promote helping our customers? Or hurting them?
Price
Lower-priced brands might be analogized by Walmart (can afford lots of products); higher-priced brands might be compared by Apple (graphics, design, performance.)
Passion
Passionate brands might include Harley Davidson (motorcycles for lifestyle); brands that aren’t passionate may promote the same product/service for business reasons with less enthusiasm.
Personal
A personal brand would be like Tom’s Shoes; businesses that promote their employees alongside their product or service might reflect this.
Product
A ‘product’ brand is basically a give it to you straight type of company. An example of this would be Viking Range Corporation which makes professional-grade home appliances 6) People- Brands that focus on people might include Lululemon Athletica (encourages humanity/community); Walmart might analogize brands that don’t.
Planet
Brands that are planet friendly may include Patagonia or TOMS Shoes; brands that aren’t eco-friendly would analogize to oil producers.
Process
A process-driven company might be compared to Google because of their efficient working style; companies without a process, like some non-profits, might focus on the result instead of how it gets done. 9) Profit – Companies with profit as one of their primary goals would analogize to oil producers or similar businesses; companies without profit goals relate more closely to non-profits looking for donations 10) Price – Low price points can be found in stores like Walmart; high price points would analogize to Apple.
Pride
Proud brands might include Harley Davidson (motors for lifestyle); brands that don’t promote pride might be Analogized by the oil industry.
Proven
Companies with proven products or services may focus on facts and statistics; companies without a strong product/service history will likely focus more on promises than results.
Place
Location-based businesses like McDonald’s can relate to this attribute; non-location-specific companies like TOMS Shoes do not.
Purpose
This word relates to companies with a charitable purpose beyond their business model, like John Deere (environmentally friendly) or Patagonia (one item sold = one thing donated); oil producers or similar organizations would analogize companies without a goal.
Purity
Pure brands might include those that use all-natural ingredients like Burt’s Bees; brands that aren’t as pure might relate to oil companies trying to market themselves as environmentally friendly.
Quality
Quality is typically represented in superior technology, performance, or features; non-quality-focused companies would analogize more closely to non-profits looking for donations.
Quantity
This attribute focuses on the sheer numbers of a company, so examples include Walmart and McDonald’s who sell lots of items with low price points; non-quantity companies would be Analogized by organizations like the Red Cross.
Rebellion
This attribute focuses on companies that rebel against established market norms, so examples include Apple with their sleek and stylish products or TOMS Shoes with their one-for-one business model; brands without this type of edge might analogize more to traditional oil companies. 20) Relaxation – Brands that; companies that don’t focus on quantity would analogize to non-profits looking for donations or smaller organizations.
Security
Brands concerned with security might include those focusing on protection like Master Lock; brands not worried about safety would analogize more closely to oil producers.
Savings
Brands focused on savings might include warehouse stores like Costco or Sam’s Club; brands that aren’t focused on savings might be analogized to non-profits looking for donations.
Conclusion:
Brands with unique personalities can set themselves apart from the competition and establish themselves as a brand worth following. If you have extra time, consider creating a few “personas” or characters that represent your ideal customer, and use them when writing your content to help guide the tone. Remember to enjoy the journey while building that iconic brand persona.
