Be Brand Awesome

3 Quick Ways to Build An Awesome Brand

Why your brand is like a layer cake

Your brand identity has several layers and all of those layers make up who your company is to your customer. Building that brand, is less about making it new and more about defining what’s already there, rolling out to the world fully baked! Here are 3 quick ways to build your brand.

Build Brand Values

What is the #1 thing you want to provide to your target audience? If you are a family owned bakery, maybe it’s providing the best local homemade baked goods in main town USA, etc. If you are a small mortgage broker shop, perhaps you want to provide the best loan options for first time home buyers in the county. If you are a wholesale lender, you want to offer the best service or knowledge on Non-QM loan programs. Also, if there’s something unique (your differentiation) about your products or services, make sure that’s part of your values. Maybe you have exclusive rights to a product that you sell or have the lowest price in the industry, etc.

Start at the foundation, that first layer and think about what you want to provide, how the company is different and write down those values. Share those values with your employees, customers, throw it on a plaque at the office, make sure those values are clearly stated for all to see. Remember, keep them simple to understand.

Develop a Consistent Design DNA

In order to develop a brand presence, think about how you want customers to see you and how to best represent yourself or your company.

Think about the your company brand values and start concepting visuals to support it. One great idea is to do a visual storyboard, get ideas on Pinterest if you need to and think about what items you want to be consistent. For example, always using your logo or website link when communicating to customers or in social media. Define the color palette that best represents you or your company.

Build a style guide for your company, even one page, that provides guidelines on company colors, how to use your logo, how to represent the company in different media such as social, print ads, sales collateral, in-store signage, and remember – focus on your everyday usage to start.

Be Consistent

Cakes come in many sizes, shapes, colors and flavors. Your brand should always be the same cake and the layers consistent. Once you figure out your values and your look and feel it’s time to put yourself out there. One of the most important things about building your brand is to be consistent. You want your target audience to be able to identify who are right away without question. Think about the big brands such as Coca-Cola or Walmart, right away we conjure up images of their colors and the fonts used for their logos, maybe even a memorable commercial you’ve seen. What do they all have in common? Consistency.

Be consistent across all channels, period. That means if you are a real estate agent and are canvassing the neighborhood with your door hangers and running a display ad in the local paper, make sure your brand is represented in everything you put out there from business cards to a powerpoint presentation you give at your next home buying seminar.

If you are a small company or even a larger one, pay attention to internal branding and corporate culture. Ensure it’s weaved into everything from employee orientations to building corporate culture building initiatives. Your brand should be consistent across the board. If you are starting to get tired of your design after a few months, that’s good. You are remaining true to your DNA. Remember, chances are your audience is experiencing your brand for the first time in many places. Consistency will pay off in the long run.

Baking that cake layer by layer is not easy, however, once it’s baked – everyone will want a piece.