Branding Takes Courage...Let Us Help

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Branding is certainly not a carefree topic. It is a critical element of any business. All too often logo design is treated as being interchangeable with branding. Although they go hand-in-hand, they are not the same. Many businesses overlook the true potential of what a brand can and will accomplish, settling for just a logo. So, what sets a brand apart from a logo. Why is the jump from a logo to a brand so difficult? Why do you need a brand, not just a logo? Let’s explore.

SOME DEFINITIONS
In order to gain a healthy understanding of the differences between a logo and a brand, some definitions must first be established.

A logo is a business’ identification in its simplest form via a recognizable mark or symbol. On the other hand, a brand is the emotion behind what someone feels, sees and tastes when they interact with your company on any level. At the core, branding is an emotional experience. The progression is clear: a logo must come before a brand.

WHAT IS A BRAND?
A memorable logo is important; it paves the way for effective branding. However, a brand is more than a logo. It’s more than just visual identification. A brand is the emotion behind what someone feels, sees and tastes when they interact with your company on any level. Your brand is the image behind what your business believes and strives to accomplish. As a result, your brand becomes your personality and along with that personality comes numerous associations. Therefore a brand bears much more responsibility than a logo.

Brilliant branding takes courage because it is something that is constantly being formed by the public’s perception. Although a designer lays the foundation of a brand visually, the brand’s audience is what truly shapes it. Therefore, it is imperative that the foundation is laid correctly by falling in line with your business’ image and goals.

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What Will Resonate With Your Audience?

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Know Your Audience

It’s pointless investing time or money in developing your brand without first ascertaining what will resonate with your audience, and to understand your customer’s habits, wants and needs it is essential to talk to them; knowing your audience is the first and most important task in building a brand.

Color and design matter

Your visual identity, including your logo, is a consumer’s first encounter with your brand, so it must create the right impression.

Unless you’re a graphic designer, avoid the DIY approach and invest in a professional designer to create and develop your logo.

To keep your brand identity consistent across all media channels, create a set of brand guidelines containing detailed information on the color palette, fonts, and tone of voice to be used in your branding, along with other elements such as how your brand should appear on staff uniforms, marketing literature and advertising materials.

Finally, don’t ruin your brilliant branding by giving your brand a bad name. A brand name can have a detrimental effect on your overall brand awareness, so choose it carefully. A brand name must reinforce the key elements or objectives of your business because, ultimately, the more it communicates to your audience about your business and what it provides, the less effort you’ll expend trying to explain it.

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Your Website Can Be The Best Tool For Promoting Your Business...If You Have One

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While having a website may seem like an unnecessary cost if you're not a prolific internet user yourself, a recent survey showed as much as 70% of the population now has access to an internet connection - that's a big business opportunity you'll be missing out on if you don't have a web presence. Even if your business' website lists little more than your address and opening hours, maintaining a web presence could give you the edge over more technophobic competitors.

Why you need a website
-If you get it right, your website will be the best tool you have for promoting your business. Your website will essentially become an online shop-window, accessible to customers all over the world, which means the better it looks and more and up-to-date it is, the better impression it will make on consumers.
-Whether it's three o'clock in the morning or Christmas day, the internet never closes - which means your business is open all the time, without any extra effort from you. If you choose to have an online store, your customers will be able to dictate when they want to buy, rather than limiting themselves to your opening times.
-If you are locally based, having a web presence will open your business up to new markets outside your local area, giving people from across the world the chance to browse your products or services.
-A well-designed website will make your business appear more professional. In fact, a well-considered website can fool customers into thinking your business is larger than it is and could even level the playing-field between your business and its more established competitors.
-If you're starting a business on a shoestring, the costs of putting together a website will be cheaper than buying or renting premises, and could attract business from further afield than a high-street based business would.
-Feedback is often a difficult thing to attain and more often than not, feedback on your business will be limited to the negative. The internet allows you to enter into a dialogue with your customers, though: use surveys, questionnaires and feedback forms on your website to do market research and find out exactly what your customers' expectations are.

How important is the design of my website?
Very. For many of your customers, your website will be their first impression of your business. Your website gives your customers an idea of what the business is about, who it is for and who runs it. You wouldn't go to a business meeting without looking your best - and your website should be exactly the same.

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Make Sure You Have Full Command Of Your Brand

Know What Your Brand Means

To build your brand, you need to know what your brand equals or what you want it to equal. Write down all the characteristics that describe what you are and how you would like to be perceived. Once you compile that list, you could fine-tune it and make sure you have full command of your brand in order to reach your customers and, more importantly, your potential customers. The adjectives and characteristics that make up your brand ideally differentiate you from your competitors and provide a clear understanding of what your business is not only capable of doing, but also what it is known for, and how you successfully sell your products and services.

Communicating your brand positioning is not just about the adjectives you choose to support what the brand equals. It also involves the methods and manner in which you are communicating the brand to the general public and, more importantly, to your target consumers. This has to do with the messaging and communication of the brand to others.
To aid yourself and your employees, you might create phrases, copy and descriptions that hit the bull’s-eye when communicating with customers or clients. It may help not just to know what the brand stands for but also how to properly communicate that in order to avoid brand confusion. Create a checklist of points to touch on while engaging with customers, to stay in line with the brand and what it represents. It might include situational encounters where a customer makes a request or has a question and the employee has a guide to the appropriate answer or response.

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Let Us Create A Standout Logo For Your Business

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Create a standout logo

A good logo will go a long way. Unless you are able to create one on your own, which looks professional, you’ll need to hire an expert at I4 Advertising. You can find our designers to help you create an image that lets people know what you and your company stands for instantly.

While brainstorming logo ideas by yourself is a crucial step in creating your business image, trying to create a logo completely on your own is a mistake.

Fortunately you don’t have to spend a fortune to find help. To save money, it’s best to have a rough idea of what you’d like. Brainstorm with friends and do some basic research. Don’t worry, it’s fun! Check out other company logos. Determine which ones you like and which you don’t.

What makes a good logo? There are a few key elements that make for a successful logo. Ask yourself, if that logo is:
Functional: Will it work on a letterhead, a business card as well as a large poster?
Aesthetic: No one likes an ugly image.
Original: If you use clip art, it will be obvious. I4 Advertising can create original art.
Appropriate: A plumber might have pipes in their logo or a large wrench. A humongous diamond ring would not be a good choice.
Timeless: Pick a logo that will work into the next decade.
Simple: A complex drawing with obscure references might confuse potential clients. Keep the drawing clean and simple.

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You Can't Afford To NOT Brand

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"But … We Can’t Afford to Do Branding"

Actually, you can’t afford not to. Sure, branding can get incredibly expensive if your idea of branding is a nationwide television and print campaign. But it doesn’t need to be.

Here are 4 tips you can start on today to help your small business create, build and reinforce brand:

-Start with clarifying what your brand stands for. What’s that “one thing” you want customers to think of, when thinking of your company? How can you STAND OUT? Are you the most knowledgeable? — that is, your representatives can help the customer choose options in a complicated product environment; Speed — such as your 10-minute lunch menu, or same-day delivery, or fastest time to create a customized solution; high quality — especially when all the competition is low quality;

-Think it through. If you or your team are confused about that “one thing” that sets your company apart, customers probably will be, too.

-If you’re not sure what this is, find out. Schedule a strategy session and hash it out with your team. Do a customer survey to ask existing customers what they value most. Start asking new customers what made them choose your company or product or service.

-Try to limit it to one thing or at most two things you want your brand to be known for. If you end up with a laundry list of 20 things, go back to the drawing board and narrow it down. Customers don’t choose a vendor for 20 reasons. It’s usually one or two reasons that push them over the decision edge.

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A Website For Your Business Helps Give Your Business Credibility

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Clearly there are still a lot of small businesses that do not have websites, there are various reasons for this but mostly it comes down to the belief that they are expensive. It is rather surprising how much small business owners believe a website will cost them.

Remember you don't need a giant ten thousand page website for your business, just a simple site that tells people about your company and your products will be more than enough.

A website will not only give you credibility but it will also help to give the impression that your company is bigger and more successful than it may actually be. One of the great things about the internet is that the size of your company does not really matter. There is no reason that you can't get your site to rank in Google ahead of a large multinational competitor and funnel off some of their traffic. This is a big part of the reason that a website is even more important for a small business than a big one, it tends to level the playing field.

The main reason that it is important for businesses to have a website is how people are likely to find you. These days most people will go online and research products and companies before they make a purchase, if you don't have a website you are missing out on all of this potential business. Even if people don't buy your product online they are still likely to research it online so you have to have a website so these people can learn about your business.

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Have A Strong Online Presence With A Website For Your Business

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Running your own business is no easy task, and your to-do-list is guaranteed to never end. This said, you shouldn’t use this as an excuse to take short cuts when it comes to having online visibility. Beginning with your website, it’s vital to position yourself online with a strong, professional destination that gives customers the impression you mean business and the motivation to want to engage more with your business. With this in mind, consider these five reasons why having a strong website is important.

-First Impressions Count
-Window Shopping Isn’t What It Use to Be
-No Website Means Losing Business

By now it’s clear that if you don’t have a website, you’re missing out on opportunities for customers to identify who you are and if they want to spend money with you.

Having a professional, polished looking website that functions easily and offers customers easy navigation, strong photo images, professional quality content and an overall experience that engages them enough for them to want to do business with you is key.

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Part Of Branding Is A Quality Logo

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A brand isn’t something only large, well-known companies have. It is a necessity for any person or business — from freelancers to international e-commerce sites — to establish themselves as an authority in their industry.

A brand is not just a logo; it’s a reputation. It’s a way to attract and communicate with your audience. Because people are often exposed to your brand before actually interacting or doing business with you, it also acts as a way of setting expectations.

To effectively brand yourself, you first need to understand the different components involved, why they are important and how to properly implement them. Below are some of the essential aspects and steps involved in successful branding, regardless of your industry or budget.

– Clear mission statement
– Unique value
– Quality logo
– Professional website
– Personal style and voice

Identify what questions your target audience is asking, and provide them with consistent communication to position your brand as an invaluable resource.

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You Need A Good Website That Is SEO Friendly

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THE WEBSITE

A company’s website is the most basic form of a company’s web presence and is a must have in today’s business environment. It also serves as an online storefront and acts as the face of the business’s brand and message to the world. If a company has one thing, it should be a professional and audience-appropriate website. It may be that your website doesn't serve its purpose. With the constant changes happening online, you want to ensure that your website is adapting appropriately.

SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE

The next evolution in a company’s web presence typically comes in the form of its social media channels. A business today will typically have a Facebook page, and many companies are taking advantage of Twitter profiles, Pinterest profiles, and other numerous social media sites to promote their web presence and overall brand. Because these platforms are free, it typically makes sense to jump on board and reach a wider audience.

SEARCH ENGINE PREVALENCE

Another aspect of a company’s overall web presence is its prevalence on search engine results pages (SERPs). Since Google’s search algorithm takes into account many factors, including relevant content and popularity, your website’s ranking on Google is a good indicator of how strong your web presence is. Lockdown appropriate keywords in your area by implementing a strong search engine optimization campaign.

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Make Your Business Accessible; Get A Website

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The key to making the most of the web is making your business as accessible as possible, letting people interact with you in a way that suits them, whenever they want to. Your customers are online 24/7, and as such they expect to be able to interact with businesses and organisations whenever and wherever they are online. Of course, that doesn't mean having to have a presence on every single online channel; it means being clever about selecting the ones that are most important to your audience.

-Be accessible
At the most fundamental level, this means a basic, professional looking website with easy to find, relevant information about your business. At a more advanced level, that could be a fully-blown booking tool that lets customers schedule their own appointment or booking with you, essentially giving your businesses a 24/7 receptionist.

-Think multi-channel – but focus on the ones that really matter
One of the first things to consider is through which online channels to make your business visible. Yes, your website is your flagship, but you need to get your brand to where your potential customers are. As a small business, you likely don't have either the time or resources to do everything, and investing in a fruitless channel can end up being a costly mistake. Think hard about where your customers are spending their time online, and focus your efforts accordingly.

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We Can Brand Your Small Business

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Branding is what creates customer loyalty. They say it is what keeps consumers loyal and buying repeatedly.

But let's go further. Branding is what helps a prospective buyer call to mind a particular company when it comes time to buy. In other words, branding also helps with awareness.

In a world of infinite choices, branding that helps people remember YOUR company is more important than ever. Today consumers have a seemingly endless choice of retailers, products and services available at their fingertips online, or at the local strip shopping centers or shopping malls.

If consumers are shopping for something, what do they do? Go to Google, where billions of Web pages and yellow page listings are available.

Not only are there many choices, but some of the decision factors that traditionally separated and defined companies are today transparent and without much difference. Take, for example, pricing. Pricing is easier to discover and compare than ever before. In certain industries there may be very little price difference.

When all prices are the same, what makes the buyer choose one over another? Nuances and qualitative factors may make the difference.

For small businesses, what sets apart the business may be factors such as high quality, craftsmanship, personalized customer service, superior knowledge to help customers make the proper product selections, and similar qualitative factors.

I4 Advertising Agency can help you brand your business and create a website for your small business.

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Let I4 Advertising Agency create a stunning, responsive website for your business today!

A website is a crucial aspect to any growing company. In this digital era, an online presence is necessary to reach potential customers. It is a place where your customers know they can get reliable information and where your business can stand apart from others.

The main reason some businesses don’t think they need a website is that it would not be relevant to their business or industry. Any business in any industry can benefit from having a website.

Technology is constantly growing and with more ways than ever to connect online, consumers need an easy way to locate your business. With over 3 billion Google searches per day, new customers could be seconds away from finding you and your business. Don’t forget your website will be available to them 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Let your website do the work while you build your business and brand.

Posting updates, hours of operation and specials is a big part of any business. Your customers want to know what is going on and when. With 26% of adults not using social networking sites, those customers may miss out on a sale or holiday closing information. By having your information on your website, you ensure that your customers can depend on your business and will want to come back in the future. By making this information available in one place you will have time to focus on your business instead of fielding phone calls about holiday hours and specials.

Let I4 Advertising Agency create a stunning, responsive website for your business today!

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Let Us Design An Original Logo For Your Business

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Many studies show that people are more responsive to visual images than text. It’s easier to recall a complex image than it is a long sentence, for example. Your logo has to incorporate all of the feelings and elements of your business image and convey them all in a glance. When that glance can have a profound impact on your success, you can see how powerful your image can be when used correctly.

Designing a great logo can be a tremendously involving process. Don’t let this discourage you. If anything, it should reinforce how important your logo design is.

A great logo incorporates all of the elements of your business in a single image. It needs to distill the attitude and personality of your company in an understandable way. It must be unique but memorable, professional but not without character. Your logo also needs to scale to different sizes, work on print, the Web and on merchandise. It must be flexible but consistent, and this take work to achieve.

Your logo is yours.

Your logo is the face of your business – your fingerprint, if you will. It has the power to summon a range of emotion and ideas from anyone that sees it. It must be tightly associated with your company and your goals. Remember that your logo is yours, and it’s your job to own it and deliver the message that you hope to.

Who should your logo affect?

A great logo speaks directly to your target audience. While the best logos can be understood by all without much confusion, the most important audience is your target market. If your business specializes in products for youth, but your logo looks like it was pulled from a 1950’s newspaper, you might be focusing on the wrong group.

Your logo should appeal to the demographic you are trying to sell to.

Your logo is a vital part of your business. When you have an exceptional logo design, it’s something you are deeply proud of and will take every chance to show off. You wouldn’t sell a product that you weren’t proud of – so don’t put a logo on it that you aren’t equally as satisfied with.

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Can Your Customers Reach You?

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As a business owner, you need to know where your consumers are. But what if consumers know your business and what you can offer, but they can’t reach you? That is one of the risks you take by not having a website for your business.

What are some other benefits of having a business website?

Cost Effective
You know exactly how much your website is going to cost you and its on goings – a brick and mortar store on the other hand is susceptible to many out of the ordinary occurrences which could blow out the costs such as leaving the lights on, theft, damage, extra staff etc.

A strategically developed website and online presence solution provides tremendous benefits and costing outlines.

Accessible around the clock
Your website and social media accounts are accessible 24/7/365. Imagine that you want to buy from a store. You put in all the effort required to go to the store, but when you get there, it’s closed. We all know how irate we feel in that situation. You’ll think twice about going back given the bad taste its left (ok might have been your fault for not checking but hey, this is proving the point here!). You will just find another store that is more easily accessible.

Since your website is operational around the clock, from the convenience of the local coffee shop, their couch or their bed, your customers and clients can easily access your website and services.

Convenient
What is more convenient: driving outside to look for different stores that are available to shop in, or sitting in the comfort of your own home and shopping for the products you’re looking for? Pretty obvious answer, unless you like aimlessly driving around. Smart businesses realise this and thus have their own website housing their products and services so that potential customers can browse online for the products they want to purchase.

Credibility
By building a website you are giving your business the opportunity to tell consumers why they should trust you and the testimonials and facts to back up those opportunities. Believe it or not, most people will search the internet for a product or service before the purchase to check the credibility first. When you provide good service or product, positive word-of-mouth about your business is likely to spread. Which in turn, delivers more repeat and new business.

People tend to trust a business after they have done business with it. Using your website, you can continuously serve consumers online and increase your credibility as a business owner.

Sales
Without sales, or selling more than you spend, your business is doomed. By having an online presence you allow for the sale of your products or services around the clock to whoever whenever with no or hardly any limitations; Unless you run out of stock or overworked, but thats a good problem to have right! Giving your business the online presence it deserves is crucial to your brand and accountants smile.

In short, being visible worldwide means you are very likely to gain more customers. The more customers and visitors you have, the more sales you will generate. The more sales you generate the happier you and your shareholders will be!

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Your Company NEEDS a Professional Website, No Matter What Size Your Business

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Like many small business owners, you may believe your business cannot benefit from having a website or that a website is not within your budget. Or maybe you think because you don’t use a computer, neither do your potential customers. These are misconceptions. These 8 reasons show why your company NEEDS a professional website, no matter what size your business.

1. Your small business will gain credibility
2. A website saves you money
3. It will let you keep your customers informed
4. It is always 'open'
5. A website can target a wider audience
6. It gives a way to show off your work
7. A website saves you time
8. It improves customer service

It's an internet world and the world is on the internet. About 80% of consumers use the internet to search for products and services they need before they make a purchase. Most customers today will assume your company has a website and may search for your business only to find you do not exist on the world wide web. Most of your competitors probably already have a website. Don't let them snatch your customers away by not having your own company website.

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Branding Is A Way Of Defining Your Business

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Branding is just as important for small businesses as it is for big names. Indeed, many corporate brands try to look more like small firms in order to appeal to consumers that prefer to support independent brands.

Branding is a way of defining your business to yourself, your team and your external audiences. It could be called the business’ “identity,” but only on the understanding that it embodies the core of what the business is and its values, not just what it looks and sounds like. Customers of all sorts of businesses are so savvy today that they can see through most attempts by companies to gloss, spin or charm their way to sales.

The benefits that a strategically defined brand can bring are the same as when people fall in love with each other. When customers connect emotively — because they share the same values and beliefs of a brand — it leads to higher sales and better brand differentiation. It also leads to loyalty, advocacy and can even protect your price in times when competitors rely on promotional discounts to drive sales. It can also give you the ideal platform from which to extend your offering or range.

1. Don't repeat the same message in the same way over and over again.
Alternatively, aim to make your key messages work together to build a coherent identity.

2. Don’t try to mimic the look of chains or big brands.

Try and carve out your own distinctive identity. There is a big consumer trend towards independent establishments, and several chains are in fact trying to mimic an independent feel to capture some of that market. Truly independent operators can leverage their status to attract customers who are looking for something more original and authentic, that aligns with how feel about themselves.

3. Be innovative, bold and daring – stand for something you believe in.

Big brands are encumbered by large layers of bureaucracy, preventing them from being flexible and reacting to the ever-changing needs of their customers. Those layers of decision-makers can make it hard for them to be daring with their branding.

4. Always consider your branding when communicating with customers.

Don't lose your pride or dilute your brand positioning with indiscriminate discounting. Try offering more, rather than slashing prices. Promotions are an opportunity to reinforce your brand mission.

5. The old way of stamping your logo on everything won't cut it.

The future of branding is fluid and engaging — respect your customers' intelligence by not giving everything away up front. Generate some intrigue and allow them to unearth more about your brand for themselves. This is the way to foster ambassadors who revel in telling other people what they have discovered.

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How To Implent Branding For Your Business

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Here are five tips on how to successfully implement branding for your business.

1. Start by defining your brand.

Review the product or service your business offers, pinpoint the space in the market it occupies and research the emotive and rational needs and concerns of your customers. Your brand character should promote your business, connect with your customer base and differentiate you in the market.

2. When building your brand, think of it as a person.

Every one of us is an individual whose character is made up of beliefs, values and purposes that define who we are and who we connect with. Our personality determines how we behave in different situations, how we dress and what we say. Of course for people it's intuitive and it's rare that you even consider what your own character is, but when you're building a brand it's vital to have that understanding.

3. Consider what is driving your business.

What does it believe in, what is its purpose and who are its brand heroes. These things can help establish your emotive brand positioning and inform the identity and character for brand communications.

4. Aim to build long-term relationships with your customers.

Don’t dress up your offering and raise expectations that result in broken promises, create trust with honest branding — be clear who your company is and be true to the values that drive it every day.

5. Speak to your customers with a consistent tone of voice.

It will help reinforce the business’ character and clarify its offering so customers are aware exactly what to expect from the product or service.

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A Website Has Big Benefits for Local Businesses

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A website has big benefits for local businesses.

One misconception about websites is that they’re only for national companies or worldwide corporations with audiences around the globe. Actually, websites are just as, if not more, beneficial for small businesses. In fact, it’s a great way to connect with locals.

70 percent of U.S. households now use the Internet when shopping locally for products and services.
Plus, search engines often rank results according to location. In other words, if you’re looking for “shoe stores near me,” Google won’t offer you a name-brand result in New York (unless of course you live in New York).

So it’s pretty clear — an online presence has big benefits even for small businesses who deal locally. No matter where you are located, you can get started with an efficient website that draws in customers.

A website builds credibility.

Nothing is more important than the ability to be found. If you don’t have an established online identity, then customers can’t find you. Not showing up in the search engines (or on the Internet at all for that matter) is one of the fastest ways to lose credibility as a business. It makes you and your company look dated, out of touch and untrustworthy.

Even if you’re fantastic at word-of-mouth marketing, you could be missing out on a ton of referrals. Happy customers are quick to share what they think about your business, but what about their friends who haven’t experienced your services yet? They’ll take to the Internet. And when they come up empty handed, you’ll have missed your chance for brand new customers.

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A Website Is A Multi-functional & Communication Tool

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Only you can determine if your company needs a web site. While making the determination, you want to consider that a web site is multi-functional, and is a communication tool — not just an advertisement. If your business is organized, all of your clientele is local, and you have a back-log of customers waiting to be serviced —and you can handle that service effectively — you may not need a website.

If you often wish you could communicate effectively with a broader range of clients / customers, publicly post answers to frequently asked questions, attract new customers, break in to new markets and take the market share from your competitors — then a website is a MUST!

A web site is like your giant public bulletin board where people can get information on how to find you, where you are located, what you have to offer, why your service is unique, and what's new in your company. It also is easily updated and changed frequently, and is a communication forum through which your customers can communicate back to you with questions, concerns and feedback on their needs.

Your current customers may not use the computer much — that is possible.

These percentages have NEVER decreased. It is likely that they will continue to increase. A website keeps you in sync with this trend.

Another interesting statistic:
The fastest growing sector of the American population getting computer literate is between the ages of 50 and 75. This sector also includes those with the highest percentage of disposable income. A website helps you target that using population.

Another thing to think about - 75 years ago, the American population felt that the telephone was an expensive luxury and not crucial to business growth. That sentiment continued for 30 years. As social communication trends changed, and expenses decreased — businesses changed to insure profitability. Use of the Internet will only increase in the next ten years.

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A Website Will Help Your Business Be Found

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There are different reasons your business needs a website.

Reason #1: It’s the foundation of all your marketing efforts. Many of the people from these sources will go to your website to find out more about you. Without a website many potential customers will never be able to find out anything about your business. Most importantly, however, with a website you can capture these customers into what we call remarketing lists and continue to market to them for up to a year. I’ve written several posts on my blog about the effectiveness of using remarketing. And remarketing is very important when you consider that only 10-15% of your customers will convert to leads on the first visit to your site – without it you don’t have much of a chance to close the sale.

Reason #2: Customer Service.

Customers can get many of their questions answered without calling you. You can have pages with FAQ’s, directions to your location, recommendations, and testimonials. Plus if you have forms on your site customers can just submit their questions which enables youto answer when you have available time.

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