Plan Strategy Target Aim Success Concept
As you launch and grow your business, you need points of differentiation that make your business stand out. For example, you can build a strong company culture with ongoing employee investment like prizes or training.
Out in the marketplace, though, branding often serves as your main differentiator with customers. Building a strong brand means you must pay attention to some key brand elements.
Here’s a quick overview of five of the most important elements.
A good brand addresses your customers in ways that prove meaningful for them. You can’t address customers that you don’t know. You need a solid, ideal customer profile right from the get-go.
That profile tells you what your target customers care about and what they’ll find annoying. You use those insights to inform your strategy for other brand elements.
That customer profile should go a long way in helping you find your brand voice. You can think of brand voice as the overall personality or tone you use in all customer-facing communications.
A company that provides financial services for conservative, upper-middle-class clients will likely adopt a very serious tone. Conversely, a company that sells magic kits for kids will likely adopt a more whimsical tone.
Once you know your overall brand voice or personality, you must develop brand visuals that support that voice or personality. The company selling magic kits will likely opt for very bright colors and a somewhat zany logo. The financial company will resonate better with their audience using sedate colors and a logo that uses images that evoke stability, like a mountain.
You must also consider your brand values. While related to your brand voice, they are separate concerns. Your brand values represent everything your brand and company stand for in a wider and holistic view.
Brand values can range from outstanding customer service to fun. Once you establish those values, they should permeate through your brand communications and sales style.
The one element that matters most, above all other things, is that you maintain consistency. Your brand voice should not vary when people transition from your social media pages or profiles onto your blog.
The ideal customer you address must remain stable across all communication. Your logo and other brand visuals should stay as stable as possible across all points of contact. This consistency helps reassure customers that they’re getting exactly what they expect.
Each piece of your brand elements is a part of an interlocking whole, which means you can develop them independently of each other. It’s imperative that you give these elements thought and attention.
Your ideal customer and brand values inform your brand voice and brand visuals. Brand voice and brand visuals support each other and the meta-messages you send about who you are as a company. Consistency acts as a reassurance for customers across all points of contact.
Getting ready for a rebrand? Or are you looking to build your existing brand? Contact Open Lock Marketing to get started. Contact us today!