Is your small business leaving a lasting impression with your customers?
Developing a brand identity for any small business is not a quick fix. It is however a stepping-stone to establishing the look and credibility of your business. The only way to use this investment is to create it, and implement it. Creating your new brand and your new website will only work as far as it’s visible to your desired clients. Therefore, marketing efforts have to be implemented consistently (consistency is more important than the marketing budget).
You’ve probably heard the term Brand Equity but wonder what it is exactly? Simply put, it is the emotional value that a customer or potential customer sees in your product and business. It’s why YOU as a consumer may “trust” a company more than others. This brand equity can add significant VALUE when it is well recognized and has positive associations in the mind of a consumer. Its how some businesses charge more, and get away with it.
Think of a company such as Apple. They essentially sell computers – yet the average price for an Apple computer is twice as much as a PC. Is it because they have a better product? That could possibly be one of the reasons, but does that justify paying twice as much for a computer? It is because they have established a brand equity that consumers trust regardless of the product they are selling. Brand Equity does have a financial bearing on what you can charge. Do you want to be viewed as the company with the top product or service? or as the company that has bottom barrel prices? Each is a respectable place to be, it’s a matter of where you want to position YOUR company or product.
Like I ask many small business owners how much is a customer worth to you? If re-developing your brand identity, and website brings in an additional ten sales a month – what value can you put on each of those clients? What is the value of one sale?
Making sure that you are sending the right message initially to your potential customers, that your website is easy to use, that your message and what you’re selling is clear the first time around, is of vital importance to the success and growth of your business. If your company can recognize this importance, it’s clear you are moving in the right direction.
When developing a new identity, it is important to decipher the strengths and weaknesses of your business. Also who are your competitors, who are your customers, and what is your best chance of gaining these customers? All of these are things that need to be answered before we begin to develop the visual elements of your brand. Essentially, the visual elements (logos, business cards, advertisements, etc…) are all there to communicate the message of who and what your company is. We have to find out the answer to this before we begin. And this is where I can help.
CONSISTENCE IS KEY IN BRAND AND MARKETING. People trust what they see most. If they see you reaching out to them via social networking, email campaigns, website presence or print ad campaign directed at your target customer – and they see that presence continuously, this WILL give your company credibility (as long as you have a credible product or service that people need).
Having the opportunity to bring a comprehensive group of design products and fuse them with a company such as YellowWebMonkey is a great opportunity. I’m looking forward to continuing to bring a level of design, professionalism, and creative services to the Central Texas area. I couldn’t have asked to work for a better group of professionals that truly know their business inside and out, and work to bring the highest amount of quality work to current and future clients.
Please check out our new graphic design products in our store here
