WHY YOU SHOULD CARE SO MUCH ABOUT BRANDING…

Hello again! It’s the end of another busy week so of course, it’s blog time once again. I’ve been talking a lot recently about the finer details of branding, like your logo, or your website, or the journey from discovery to launch, or relaunch – depending on your goals. But today I want to chat about why should care so much about branding.

Now I can tell what you’re thinking, ‘Well of course I care, it’s my business and my future,’ but that’s not the sort of caring I mean. I want to talk about taking care with everything you do when it comes to branding. From the images you use, to the copy you share and the colours you choose, right down to the packaging you ship with. You need to treat everything with the same level of care in order to do your idea, and your brand justice.

A huge part of branding is creating an amazing experience for your ideal client – from getting to know you, to liking you, trusting you and then coming back for more. So you need to make sure that experience is on-point from the start to set the tone. And today I want to share a few thoughts on some of the details and tactics you can use to showcase that extra level of care.

ADD VALUE

This one can have a massive impact, and can be such a simple win for you and your business. When people are deciding to make a purchase, there are a few key factors which can help them make their decision. One is the benefit of the item, and how it can better their life specifically, and the other is their connection with the brand, it’s values and how it makes them feel. Think about your own behavior in the supermarket for example – would you buy own brand, or a recognized brand? Do you support brands built on fair-trade or organic values? Adding value is a key way brands encourage you to select their product.

Now this could be a hand-written note included in the packaging, or a little keepsake that lets people know how important the purchase is to you and your brand. It’s the major point of difference small businesses have – the ability to surprise and go that extra mile for their customers.

But that’s not to say it has to always be free giveaways, gifts or discounts. There are plenty of other ways to achieve the same results. It could be as simple as showing that every decision you make is tailored to your ideal client. And how do you do that I hear you ask? Well, by working closely with your branding designer or studio. It can be through your use of words, visuals or attention to detail. This is another reason why it’s so important to know your ideal client inside out. Those little touches when you’re crafting your branding show you’ve taken the time and the care to create something with them in mind – and have a huge impact.

GET PERSONAL

There’s an age old saying, which I love, that goes a little something like this – “people buy from people.” And it’s so true, even in the modern world that’s driven so much by technology and digital innovation. In fact, you could argue that it’s more important than ever.

Everyone wants to feel that human connection and because there’s so much choice out it’s absolutely critical that your branding and your storytelling is able to create it. By getting to know your ideal client and then adding your personality you’ll produce unique branding, which not only gets you noticed, but also gets you remembered and loved.

You must know the feeling you get when you support a small business rather than a corporate giant. You buy into them because it makes you feel something, on a level that giant faceless corporations often can’t. Whether it’s hand-crafted produce, or a belief that the person gets you – each little touch plays a huge role in helping to convert you from consumer to customer.

And there’s a few little ways you can build those personal touches into your branding and your brand strategy. Adding value, which I chatted about above is always a winner, as is a personal email, a shout out on social or a face-to-face meeting. Personally, I always love to meet my clients face-to-face – over coffee, lunch or a glass of prosecco or two – it’s such a good way to get to know each other! You can build a real connection and show just how much you care about their business, their ambition and their story. I can’t get enough of hearing all about everyone’s amazing ideas – I’m getting inspired just writing about it!

TAKE YOUR TIME

From working on my own branding, to working with other ambitious female entrepreneurs, I know just how exciting it can be to have the idea and want to launch straight away. But it doesn’t just happen overnight – and it shouldn’t either!

Branding is a journey and it’s so important to get the foundations in place before you jump straight into crafting and developing specific elements. By taking time to finesse the finer details you’ll create a unique brand, which engages your ideal client and creates the launch pad for your ideas to take off.

It’s also important to remember that elements like your logo and colours are just the start of your brand. You have to, have to, have to, stay consistent to them across every platform and touchpoint, otherwise you could put your ideal client off. From Facebook Lives to the packaging you use, the social copy or the images you share, make sure it’s in line with your branding and brand values before you share it.

You’re creating an experience, which needs to feel like one seamless journey for the consumer so don’t rush into anything. Consideration and care equals brand consistency, and brand consistency equals success.

So there you have it, that’s why I feel you should always take care with every element of your branding – and in my opinion there’s no such thing as taking to too much care. Your branding designer should always work with you to ensure that it feels personal to you and your story, with the little additions that cut through the noise and speak to your ideal client.

I talk a lot about consistency (I know!) and the level of care you give your branding is directly related to the consistency you will achieve. I mean I’m sure we’ve all been there, seeing an amazing idea in social but clicking through to find a rushed, thrown together website which you just want to shut down immediately. Or ordering something which looks amazing online and it arriving in battered, thrown together packaging. It instantly puts you off. And doesn’t only put you off the thing in front of you, it puts you off the brand behind it – and no-one wants that.

But by going above and beyond what your client expect, you’ll win them over immediately – and they’ll want to tell all their friends about how amazing you are – WINNER!

Nicki x