When you own a company, your brand is more than just a logo, it's your company's entire image. From your mission statement and your company values, to the color scheme of your printed materials and the images you choose on your website, branding goes deep.
If you want to attract prospects to your business and convert these prospects into customers, you need to have a cohesive brand that really portrays the company's spirit and is recognizable. If your brand doesn't have the curb appeal it needs to drive traffic into your establishment, here are 5 tips to improve your brand image so that it has more curb appeal.
1: Make a Great First Impression with a Professional Design
Did you know that first impressions really do count? If you have a professionally designed logo and website that brands your company, you are much more likely to attract prospects. The Halo effect is the name for studies that show that consumers don't like to be wrong, and will choose the first company they see with an attractive and professional website or layout. Take advantage of human nature and focus on designing a professional logo, website, storefront, and mailers, and you can impress clients with your image first.
2: Make Your Company Appear Larger
Just because you have a small business does not mean that you shouldn't have a big brand. If you ask consumers, they will generally say they are more comfortable doing business with a big company who has been in business for several years. If your company doesn't look big enough, think about how you can make your company appear larger with your brand. With a good website, partners, and marketing materials, you can build trust and make your company big to the outsider.
3: Highlight the Benefits
Your marketing should communicate the value you offer, and your brand needs to make the benefits of your product or service obvious. If you are not sure what values consumers are looking for, create customer experience surveys and ask real people for their honest opinions. Once you see what your target audience wants, you can design your brand around these wants and needs to cater to the crowd.
4: Be Sure there is Continuity at Every Level
Your brand needs to be consistent. When you build a cohesive brand, people can identify that your advertisements, your mailers, and your brochures are all coming from the same company. The way you answer your phone, the uniform your staff wears, and the tone of your content all affect your image and are part of your brand. Make sure you stay true to your brand with everything.
5: Re-brand When You Grow
As you grow your business, your brand should grow as well. What makes you unique as a small business may no longer make you unique when you expand. Find out what your current customers like about your company by sending out feedback surveys with and the feedback you receive can help you re-brand by updating your logo, website, and materials so that your image is fresh.
Make sure to follow a rigid structure if you want your brand to really work. Think about all of the brands you can identify and what make them different. Once you can think of something that makes you stand out, think about how your company looks from the outside in and give the brand a face lift.