Successfully Branding Your Business
When you think of successful businesses, it is likely that
the first thing that you associate them with is their corporate identity.
Companies such as Microsoft and Nike can use their branding alone to sell their
products. But when you are not a brand like Coca Cola or Intel, where do you
begin? Is it even worth having a corporate identity if you are a small
business? The answer to this is emphatically yes. Although corporate identity
and branding is traditionally associated with large companies, they all began
somewhere. If you are passionate about your product, and believe you have
something that can benefit a lot of people, then developing a strong corporate
identity is important.
What's In A Name?
One of the first and most important parts of your corporate
identity is your company name. It is what you are known by, and what customers
initially identify with. If your name is bad, great packaging or a striking logo
will not help. However, a great name will give you a distinct advantage over
lesser-branded competitors, and will put you on the path towards success. A
number of things to avoid when picking a name for your business are:
- Don’t
involve too many people in the naming decision, as it will usually end up
with conflict or a name that is too average.
- Avoid
truncations such as ‘Ameri’, ‘Tech’ and ‘Tron’ as they sound forced.
- Avoid
using place names
- Don’t
be afraid to change your business name if it unsuccessful
- Don’t
make your name too obscure
If you avoid these pitfalls, you will end up with a solid corporate
identity that will propel you above your competition.
Your company logo
Once you have a solid and attractive name in place, the next
part of corporate identity is your company logo. A logo can help to create a
consistent image throughout your business, and can make consumers more aware of
your company. Corporate identity is about making people aware of your company
or product, and an attractive logo or packaging will reinforce your corporate
identity and name. Four key factors to consider when designing your logo are:
- Simplicity
- Proportionality
- Small
range of colours
- Easily
legible fonts
Companies with the strongest corporate identity use this
four factors to get an attractive and easy to view image. The image should be
simple, and not too tall or wide. Logos with a small range of colours stand out
better, and keeping to simple sans serif fonts make writing easy to read.
Although there are exceptions to these rules, it is better to have a simple yet
and eye catching image than one with is daring but fails to grab people’s
attention or is too complex.
Develop a philosophy
Although strong names and images are important, they mean
little unless they are associated with a particular ethos or philosophy. In
order to cement your corporate identity, you need to associate its visuals with
a particular way of doing business. This is what will help to set you apart
from your competitors, and will make customers remember you instantly. Taglines
are a good example of how to create a philosophy to go with your business. For
example, Tesco try and promote their philosophy of being valuable for everyday
items at low prices by using the tagline ‘Every Little Helps’. If you can
develop an ethos to back up your visuals, then your corporate identity will
really stand for something and be much stronger for it.
Consistency of identity
Once you established your corporate identity, it is
important use it consistently in all aspects of your business. From your
website and office, to stationery and business cards, all aspects must be
consistent. Your corporate identity will only become strong if it remains
consistent and clear.
Small business branding
Now that you have a strong and consistent name and logo,
your corporate identity is taking shape. However, it is important to remember
that having a strong corporate identity does not automatically make you a large
company. If you are a small or single person business, it is important to
combine your own identity into your corporate identity. Too many small
businesses make the mistake of believing that to be ‘big’ you must be a
faceless company.
A corporate identity is about setting yourself apart from
the crowd and making people remember your company and its associated
philosophy, whether you are big or small.