Quick overview of topics covered
What is meant by brand in business?
Establishing your brand
What is a brand style guide and why does your small business need one?
We all might have come across or have first-hand experience wearing those “hello my name is…” tags similar to the one I used for this blog post's visual. Those name tags are used to introduce someone unknown or new. It helps to identify and meet new people when in an unfamiliar or new setting. The name tag scenario explained above is similar to your brand – your brand being the nametag, helping to introduce your business.
If you are new to the ‘game’ starting without a name tag (solid brand) will be difficult, you’ll easily get lost in the crowd and potentially miss out on opportunities to do business. The lesson: Establish a clear brand for your business – something to help people identify you. Something that will make and leave a good impression. Something that says “hello I am...” notice me.
You may be thinking, what more could there be to a brand other than a name or maybe a logo? You are not entirely wrong in your thinking, yes, a name and a logo are certainly part of a brand but branding involves much more. Having a name or a logo is just the tip of the iceberg.
What is meant by brand in business?
The term brand should be thought of as an umbrella term that represents who the business is (identity), what they prioritise (objectives), and where they are going (goals - mission and vision). In terms of the name tag analogy things like how the name is written, who it is attached to and of course, the name itself on the tag is what helps to form a brand and create an impression.
Establishing your brand
Now that you know exactly what is meant by a brand, you need to create or establish your brand. Thinking of your brand in terms of brand information, brand visualisation and brand communication can help with this task.
1. Brand information: Information about the business that helps set the pace for establishing your brand.
General information – Includes your business name, is there a reason for the specific name? The date established can also be included.
Purpose – why does the business exist? includes your mission (long-term goals), vision (how you envision the business to be once the long-term goals are achieved) and what you offer people meaning your specialty or niche (product/service)?
Target Audience - who are your customers? Include things like their age, location, gender, interests, lifestyle, etc.
2. Brand visualisation: Includes all the visual aspects of your brand, the elements that can be seen.
Use of images/visuals (include style and size specifications). Make sure that the images used are relevant to your brand and target audience.
Font use - pick the fonts to be used in branding collateral. Ensure you pick a font or typeface that will easily serve the purpose you intend to use it for e.g., using an easy-to-read font for body text or paragraphs. Try to keep it to a maximum of three fonts.
Brand colour palette (which colours are associated with your brand and why). Make sure these colours are aesthetically pleasing, complement each other, and relate well with your target audience and the overall brand identity that you’d like to portray.
Logo & logo variations - Explain your logo and its variations. Remember to specify the guidelines related to the use of your logo and its variations.
3. Brand communication: The way your business “sounds” when communicating and interacting. How do you want to make people feel when interacting with your brand?
Brand voice (brand personality) – establish the feeling you’d like to evoke when interacting and make sure to keep it consistent each time your brand communicates and engages.
Tone (attitude and stance) – when interacting in different contexts it is important to establish exactly how you’d like to be perceived while still embodying your brand voice. What is meant by tone is that your brand personality might be playful but your response to a customer complaint can't always be, this is why establishing tone in brand communication is important.
Terminology (use of words and phrases) – are there specific words and phrases associated with your brand? What are they? Is there any specific spelling that should be applied to the names of products? Are there any acronyms your company uses? Which hashtags do you use? Is emoji use permitted on certain channels?
Once the above three categories and all they entail have been established, the rules and guidelines set for each category must be followed and used consistently. This is where a brand style guide comes in handy as it contains all these established brand rules and guidelines in one place for you or anyone else in your business to fall back on, for example, if someone needs to familiarise themselves with your brand like a new employee or designer.
What is a brand style guide and why does your small business need one?
A brand style guide is a document or file that is used as a reference tool stipulating every aspect of your brand in terms of brand information, brand visualisation and brand communication as discussed above. It helps your business form a brand identity by keeping things consistent so that your business can:
Stand out and be easier to recognise.
Remain authentic
Build brand trust and relationships with both existing and prospective customers.
You may be thinking – Isn’t this something that bigger companies must look into and invest in rather than a small business? You could surely invest your time elsewhere when it comes to your business than spending time pondering about which font to use every time. However, putting time and effort into your brand could be just what you need to set your business apart and stand out from your competitors. Being consistent in your brand approach makes a difference and can be very rewarding. It does not have to be difficult to establish a solid brand. Start with compiling a brand style guide. You can access my FREE Brand Style Guide through Canva to help you get started and customise it to fit your brand and marketing needs.
Fascinating Brand Facts (click to expand/collapse)
It takes about 10 seconds for a customer to spot a brand logo and form an impression, however, the chances of them remembering it will take about another 5 – 7 impressions. (medium.com).
Keeping your brand consistent at different touchpoints can increase your revenue on average by 23% (medium.com).
The use of colour can help improve brand recognition by 80% (Toura Law), this highlights the importance of using your brand colours consistently (crowdspring).
Brand authenticity sells – nearly nine out of ten customers would make an effort to reward brand authenticity meaning about 52% would go on to recommend the brand to their peers and 49% would commit to staying loyal to the brand (crowdspring).
It is important to remember that a brand goes far beyond just a name of a business or a logo. A brand has to do with the information, visualisation, and communication of a business. It is what sets you apart, and makes you stand out from the crowd but most of all it plays a vital part in determining the success of your business. In the famous words of Seth Godin marketing and leadership expert:
I hope this has inspired you or encouraged you to put in the hours towards establishing your brand. I am certain you will not regret it!
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