Category: Branding

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]What helps the general public identify the distinctive products or services of a company? A logo can help establish the initial impression of what catches a customer’s eyes. Yet, it’s not just a logo or about your company’s identity. Your brand must convey the true nature of who you are through many aspects of the company by your brand awareness.

Branding is what people think of first that sticks in their mind, of what your company is about. It’s your culture, your reputation, and your personality that shows what you are all about that makes that experience a memorable one. That is how branding works. A company logo cannot encapsulate all of that, however it is a vital part of the branding to give the visual impression of who you are.

Brand Positioning

To establish your mark within the industry, you must have a very good understanding of your vision and mission of your company.

• Product and Services. Show how your product or services solve the problem for your customers or clients in a compelling way.
• Marketing Focus. Take time to understand who your customer is and target them specifically through marketing campaigns. Target some campaigns to your general target market and others to your best customers within that target.
• Separate Yourself from the Competition. Realize what value you bring when you compare yourself to your competition. Leverage those differences to make yourself shine above the rest as a company.
• What are the Benefits of Working with You? Have your most valuable aspects that you provide as the best experience out in front of people at all times. Help them see the benefits of why they should work with you.

These areas establish a strong brand presence through what people will experience when they work with you.

Brand Experience — Raising the Bar

FedEx changed the world of how we do business for connecting companies around the world in other countries to sending a package across town. Their branding is not all about the white, purple, and orange trucks or their office locations that makes them stand out. It’s about the customer service, the reputation of a fast and reliable service, along with the promise that you will have your package in your customer’s hands the next day. Raising the bar on how we view shipping and getting business done in a world of instant satisfaction. FedEx delivers that fast and committed experience.

Chick-fil-A does an exceptional job at the consumer level for branding. Imagine yourself as you walk into one of their restaurants to purchase a meal. The logo gives the impression that they are all about Chicken and providing a meal to you. That’s the starting point, however it’s not until you engage with one of their employees and receive a meal that you realize the difference compared to their competition. Their employees go out of their way to make sure you are having a pleasant experience at their location. The food is always hot and fresh to the best of their ability for a great meal. Even the management is checking on you to assure you are having the best experience during your visit.

Strategy for the Big Picture

Where do you feel your company stands in the market?
How well do you do against your competition if you’re a consumer based or business-to-business for your services? It takes time, laser focus, and purposeful efforts to make your company experience stand out beyond others around you. The logo is the first step for establishing a good presence. Take the time to develop a strong identity that does encapsulate your passion and vision for your company in a logo. The tagline can help steer the understanding of what you are about.

Evaluate how your services provide a need and solve a problem for your customers and clientele on an ongoing basis.

Market to your target audience in effective ways through print material, website and email marketing, social media exposure, and one-on-one connections. Building a relationship with your target market can mean long-term relationships with very loyal customers. So do not forgot about those long-time clients and just assume they will be loyal forever. Continue to nurture that experience to help them stay loyal to you and business.

Branding does go beyond a logo for what you stand for in the marketplace. Are you staying relevant, visibly strong, and approachable to your customers? That will help you grow your brand awareness and develop a successful business.

See Where Your Company Stands on Your Branding:

Review yours with this 10-Point Assessment for Your Company Brand.[/vc_column_text][us_btn label=”View Details” link=”url:http%3A%2F%2Fwww.serffcreative.com%2FneW_5ite%2F10-point-brand-assessment%2F|||” style=”3″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Time to Evaluate Your Business?

Where do you feel you stand in the marketplace as a viable brand with the services and products you offer? Do your customers understand and see value of working with your company? Your branding should reflect your vision and passion of your company.

If your business is doing well, have you seen areas where you could improve your efforts in your brand awareness to attract more business?

A periodic review of your business branding is key to its success. To help your brand get or maintain focus, here is a 10-point assessment to help your brand stand the test of time.

1. Concept: What is your business and what niche does it serve?
2. Vision: Who are you as a company and what are you striving to become? Do you have a definite direction of where you are going?
3. Values: What core principles does your brand stand for?
4. Expression: What characterizes the way you sell and provide your services to the market?
5. Differentiation: How is your brand unique? What makes you stand out from other companies? Is it the customer service you provide? Or is it the way you offer your services and the impact your services create for your customer?
6. Promise: What needs, desires and hopes does your brand give to create satisfaction for your customers?
7. Solution: What issues does your brand solve? How can you make a difference in other company and individual’s lives?
8. Benefit: What are your core strengths and advantages that you offer to prospective and current clients?
9. Position: How is your brand compared to your competitor’s brand perceived in the marketplace? Are you in the shadows or standing out from the competition?
10. Motivation: What compels people to purchase and use your brand’s products and services?

When you consider all of the above ask yourself if you are in line with a strong brand or are you making assumptions in hopes of hitting the mark?

To understand how your brand is recognized in the marketplace, you need to know these answers so you are able to continually grow your business. We hope this sparked some thought on how this represents your brand in the perception, performance and delivery for your brand to your end customer.

If you are not confident in the direction or have a good understanding of these areas, contact us to see how we can help improve your brand awareness within your industry.

We Want to See You Succeed.

We help businesses like you grow and succeed in your business and brand.

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Experts urge small business owners to “brand” their businesses with a logo and a set of consistent marketing materials. However, they rarely explain the reasons behind this advice. Below are some of the benefits of a professionally designed logo and identity system:

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Personality begins where comparison ends – Karl Lagerfeld

As a business, how many times have you looked at your competition and tried to set yourself apart? We do it all the time; we see an ad in a magazine, a commercial on TV and think “Oh, that’s good. We should do something like that.” The trouble is, we are constantly striving to be like the competition. If we take a step back, we will find that harnessing what makes us unique is what will set us apart. Finding our distinct personality and letting it shine will help our business soar.

The Five Peaks Capital Group is a financial group that focuses on wealth management strategies. They were seeking to improve their presence in the Rocky Mountain region, deepen their company brand and showcase their expertise in a different way. The Serff Creative team went to work by looking for the traits of their unique personality and figured out how to effectively enhance and communicate them to their clients.

Jill Lewis at Integrated Writing strategically developed the content and messaging. She zeroed in on the companies strengths and highlighted their services to speak directly to their ideal client. The written content encompassed their services in a succinct and powerful way.

Nothing speaks more quickly to a prospective client than visual branding. We were able to gain exclusive access to a Denver rooftop with a stellar view of their downtown location, and the unmistakable Union Station sign in the background. Our longtime partner Randy Parietti with William Swartz Photography used this background to capture timeless headshots of the Five Peaks team. These photos tell the story of the roots of the company and celebrate the future of their new offices that points to where they’re headed!

With the definitive messaging and distinguished photos in place, it was time to pull it all together. We created a pocket folder to hold the developed Five Peaks brand. These are personally handed to clients and confidently paints the picture of what makes them stand out from the rest.

Would you like to showcase what makes you unique?[/vc_column_text][us_btn label=”Contact us for a Free Consultation” link=”url:http%3A%2F%2Fwww.serffcreative.com%2FneW_5ite%2Fgraphic-design-agencies%2F|||” style=”3″][/vc_column][/vc_row]