One of the first signs that your company is in need of rebrand is if your logo is too similar to the competition’s.
In many cases, when a business first starts out, there aren’t too many other companies that do the same thing. As the years go by, more competition enters the market, increasing the risk of people confusing you with the competitors.
Unique branding is absolutely crucial to keeping your business at the forefront of customers’ minds.
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Many business owners will go years with tired branding, unaware of how much the company would benefit from an update.
Other business owners are well aware of how much the company needs to be updated, but put it off because of the work and time that the process entails.
If you suspect that your business may be lacking in its logo and branding, watch on to learn the signs of outdated branding.
What’s a university without some school spirit? There are plenty of options when it comes to displaying a school’s name and getting it some much-deserved attention.
Try a school graphic on the side of the football team’s bus or the student center’s windows.
School graphics can do more than publicize the school or sports teams.
Try using a graphic to get the word out about new academic programs or upcoming school events as well.
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You need to make sure everything is perfect when you’re planning an event for your business. From the food to the entertainment, you want to impress all of your guests.
However, you can’t lose sight of the reason you threw the event, and that’s promotion. Investing in the perfect event graphic can make all the difference.
Why cut corners and get a graphic that won’t hold up until your next event?
With Signature Graphics, we combine affordability and durability when it comes to producing top-of-the-line event graphics.
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Many companies find it worthwhile to give prospective customers or clients small promotional items printed with their business’s name.
While everyone loves free stuff, it’s important to consider how useful these things are. It doesn’t matter how cool your logo looks emblazoned on the side of that flimsy tote bag – people won’t use it.
Opt for items that people in your industry will really use.
If you’re in the tech industry, a quality flash drive will prove useful. If your business is more art-focused, some pencils with your company’s name will be exciting for people to receive. Always remember, stray away from the free T-shirt!
Another crucial item that your business needs to brand is paper goods.
There is nothing more professional than quality stationery with your business’s name and logo on it. This is especially necessary for companies that regularly send letters or mailers to current or prospective clients.
All of your employees, especially ones that rub elbows with customers or clients outside of regular business hours, should have business cards as well. Ensuring that any paper goods display the company’s brand in a cohesive way is always a worthwhile business decision.
If your business includes a brick and mortar store, having appropriate signage is a top priority. If you have an online shop, but occasionally rent booths at festivals and fairs, you’ll need a good banner.
Since the sign is often the first thing customers will see, it’s important that it accurately encompasses what your brand has to offer. It should be simple and eye-catching.
While it doesn’t have to show or explain in detail what your business does, your signage design should be appropriate to the industry.
A huge part of building a recognizable brand is keeping your product at the forefront of your customers’ minds. One way to do that is merchandise.
High-quality merchandise requires the graphics to match. In the following video series, you’ll learn what products are worth putting your logo on, and which you should skip.
Seeing your logo on items can give potential customers an impression of your brand before they even experience your services. Keep it simple, though, because sometimes we forget that less can be more!
When retailers set out to create a branding strategy, they are creating and marketing a vision of who they are, what they value and how their products have a place in your life. These ideas can be displayed through a design aesthetic, logo, symbol, product or more, communicating both something tangible (the product) and something ephemeral (retail identity).
Perhaps most importantly, though, a brand is much bigger than the term itself can convey. On Heidi Cohen’s eponymous blog, she quotes Bryan Eisenberg as explaining that branding is the subtotal of all experiences a consumer has with a brand, the outcome of which is dependent upon consistency, frequency and anchoring.
So, what is branding? It’s all of these things – an aesthetic, a perception, an experience – and retailers can bring this to the in-store shopping experience to realize major benefits. As the UK Design Council wrote, “Branding is an attempt to harness, generate, influence and control these associations to help the business perform better.” Thus, the brand is the idea, the subject, and branding is its targeted implementation.
The store is the ultimate ad for retailers. “It’s a combination of the right setting, striking look and feel, and, if possible, innovative store design that turns your store into the ultimate, three-dimensional ad,” explained Forbes.
A great example of this is the Apple store. The storefronts, which are made almost entirely of glass, bright white walls and roaming employees are iconic and consistent in design. Not only does the elegance of the design reflect the sleekness of the company’s products, but those ever-available workers represent the company’s expertise in its products and care for its customers.
Now, how do branding elements translate into the bottom line?
A good brand can affect overall profitability and target audience purchasing. But by how much? An infographic from invesp explained the different levels on which branding can influence purchasing behaviors. For one, brands that inspire a higher emotional intensity in their customers experience three times as much word of mouth as those who don’t, with 59 percent of shoppers preferring to buy new products from companies with which they are familiar.
Most importantly for retailers seeking to boost their brand identities, the infographic revealed the brand attributes that matter the most to consumers are trustworthiness (31 percent), creativeness (29 percent), intelligence (23 percent), authenticity (22 percent) and confidence (21 percent). Similar to Eisenberg’s emphasis on consistency, frequency and anchoring, these consumer-highlighted attributes connote similar feelings about what individuals want from a human connection – understanding, excitement and reliability.
For retailers looking to create or refine their branding, start by asking these questions:
What’s the big picture?
This requires identifying the core attributes of your retail business – your goals, your offerings, your target audience and what makes you different.
What’s the end-goal?
Starting before you know where you want to end up is a recipe for disaster. Your goals might include transforming the retail market or introducing a new product. Once you know where you’re headed, it will prove much easier to shift your branding to incorporate and support these goals.
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Red, orange and yellow are bright, exciting colors that grab the attention of potential customers.
However, these hues don’t promote a sense of panic or urgency, but of warmth and friendliness. If your product or service is fun and exciting, chances are you’ve considered using yellow or orange in your logo.
While these shades may be a bit too aggressive for a product aimed toward an older crowd, they’re great for attracting a youthful demographic, like when advertising toys.
