Today, an endless number of products and services are available at the click of a button, making it difficult to stand out, at least, that’s the case when you don’t have great branding services.
The strength of your brand plays a major role in whether your business will be successful. Create a strong, noteworthy brand and see wild success, fall flat and you’ll struggle. Branding services can play a big factor in the success of your brand – a good agency will get you good results, a great agency will help you reach the next level.
But what are branding services, exactly? What do these services include and how can an agency help your small business see success?
Companies like Coke and Tesla have sky-high budgets that allow them to pour endless amounts of money into their campaigns – and they do, because of the enormous benefit that comes with getting their branding right. But not all companies have millions of dollars to throw at strategy development and implementation. So, when you’re a little guy, how can you compete? How can you stand out and make a name for yourself?
In this article, we’ll take a look at brand development for small businesses. We’ll cover:
What Are Branding Services?
Branding is what sets you apart from your competitors – it allows you to stand out even in a saturated market. Branding services help you tell your story and allow consumers customers to hear it.
Branding can sometimes include just a logo, but oftentimes it’s a full suite of creatives and content that speaks not only to your product and/or service, but your company as a whole.
Your brand tells consumers who you are as a company. It demonstrates what customers can expect from you and your representatives, as well as your products and services.
Branding requires identifying your target market and understanding their wants, needs, likes and dislikes then integrating these qualities into your business name, image, logo design, persona and values, in order to connect with your audience. The process to do this effectively can be very involved but is necessary to develop a strong brand. This is where brand agencies can help.
A great branding agency can help you with all of the details above. Vancouver branding agencies like Advesa, for example, offer services including:
- Logo design and creation
- Social media graphics design
- Product and packaging design
- Brand identity and style guide
- Brand messaging, including content and copy development
- Marketing strategy and implementation, including SEO and social media strategy
- Web design and development
- Landing page design and development
All aspects of communication with your target market should be considered in your strategy – where, when and even how you will communicate.
All of these aspects should be integrated in order to present a cohesive image of your company, products and services. Consistency is key.
Why Branding Services Are a Must For Small Businesses
A successful strategy can result in a lot of attention for your brand. A strong brand will leave an impression on consumers, leading to brand recognition and adoption.
Think of brands such as Apple, Coke-Cola and McDonald’s. Superpowers in their own right, they’ve been through numerous rebranding projects since their inception year to continuously adapt and capture consumer and market attention.
If you want to get your branding right the first time, a professional agency will ensure you cultivate and implement a strong brand identity.
First impressions are everything, especially when it comes to products and services. A company’s logo is therefore one of the most important aspects, as this is the first thing consumers often see.
A company’s logo can also be a very memorable trademark for their business.
Take, for instance, McDonald’s golden arches.
This symbol is known across the world. In fact, just showing these arches to a consumer would allow them to name the company and the products it sells. This is powerful branding at work. While not all companies will reach the worldwide success of McDonald’s, a professional design team can ensure that your logo is memorable and easily recognizable to consumers.
After your logo, consumers likely take note of your packaging, website and messaging. A professional team will know how to integrate these aspects and how to present a strong, positive image to your potential customers and clients.
Having a team of professionals provide the content, imagery and strategy that you need to develop a strong brand identity will have benefits for years to come.
Customers place a lot of value on a company’s brand image. In fact, consumers are willing to pay significantly more for a product or service that is branded over a generic product of the same type. This is why getting your strategy right is so important. In addition to many other benefits, professional branding design will lead to brand recognition, increased sales and loyal customers.
7 Benefits For small Businesses and SMEs
You don’t need millions in your budget to be able to experience the extensive benefits of a successful brand strategy.
The effective strategies that are provided by top-notch branding agencies offer many benefits, especially for small businesses.
These benefits include:
1. Increased brand awareness
Effective branding means consumers will recognize your company and its offerings, knowing the value and reliability you provide.
2. Customer adoption and retention
A recognizable brand will have a much easier time gaining new customers and retaining old ones because of the familiarity and dependability that a strong brand offers.
In addition to attracting new customers and resulting in a loyal clientele, successful branding means a lot of your advertising will be done for you via word-of-mouth.
Branding is about more than just a logo – it’s also about your values and and personality. Find out why personality is so impactful in “Why Brand Personality – Why Personality Matters in Business”
3. Added value
Consumers will pay more for a well-known brand than they will for generic products. If your strategy is successful, you will be able to charge a premium for the quality products and services you offer.
Brand philosophies and missions, another aspect of branding services, adds another dimension to your business, allowing customers to relate to and rally behind your cause. Above all else, they give your product and or service personality – enough tot set you apart from the rest.
A brand philosophy can make or break your business. Not sure where to start? Here’s “10 Brand Philosophy Examples to Align Your Company Culture.”
4. Customer trust
When portrayed in a positive light, a company can build trust with potential clients and customers. Strong brands appear to be leaders in their fields and therefore more people are willing to make purchases from and do business with them.
Branding also creates a sense of credibility, making it easier for consumers to trust that they will have a positive experience with your company, its products and services.
5. Increased company value
Strong brands are worth more money, plain and simple. An appealing and recognizable brand makes for a much better investment opportunity and therefore increases the value of a business.
Take, for example, Starbucks versus your local coffee shop. Starbucks has very strong brand recognition, making it a valuable company. A single Starbucks location will, therefore, be worth significantly more than the local coffee shop around the corner.
Writing Sometimes, a rebranding is needed to better adapt to a changing economic climate or changes in corporate culture. Want to see how we rebranded ourselves to better align with who we are as a company? Check out “Advesa Spotlight Series: Advesa Rebrand Project”
6. Employee motivation
Strong branding can lead to high satisfaction and pride among employees. When employees are proud of the brand they work for they will enjoy their job much more and even provide a higher value of work. Google, for example, is a household brand known for its amazing employee relations. This not only improves the satisfaction of employees, helping to retain them, but also attracts new employees – often the best in their field.
A brand’s mission can also play a large role in this motivation, as companies with powerful and positive brand stories will attract and retain better employees.
Writing Corporate Social Responsibility is a big part of branding. More and more consumers are looking towards companies to be social leaders in their industry. Learn more in “Why Corporate Social Responsibility – Why CSR Benefits You”
7. Advertising
Overall, strong branding leads to better advertising campaigns. When a company has a strong strategy in place, their promotions will run more smoothly and be more effective, due to the integrated nature of their imagery and messaging.
The advertising itself can also play a role in developing brand recognition. Professional agency branding can be a big help in getting this right.
As a result of all of these benefits, companies that invest in a creative and effective strategy will see an increase in sales, website traffic and overall recognition amongst their target audience. Investing in successful branding will always provide a positive ROI worth every penny.
Key Takeaways on Branding Services
Branding isn’t something you want to get wrong – especially because your first impression with a potential new customer or client is often the only impression you get.
Professional brand development isn’t just for multi-million dollar companies. Small businesses can greatly benefit from brand planning and development and the help of a branding agency. An agency such as Advesa can help by researching, creating and implementing a strategy that will establish your brand in a strong, positive and memorable way. Our services include logo design, brand voice construction, content creation, web design and development and more.
With the help of an agency, small businesses can develop a strong brand identity which will increase the value of the overall business, increase the value of individual products and services, create trust with consumers and make it easier to obtain and retain new customers, as well as valuable employees.
Have a million dollar idea but nobody to sell it to? Not connecting with your audience? Unsure of where to start?
Advesa empowers business owners by providing them with the digital solutions they need to establish their online presence and witness exponential growth. We take a holistic approach to online business strategy, web development and digital marketing.
Through experience and innovation, we discover niches within industries and apply proven methods to help small to medium sized businesses craft their own brand, build a website, and sell online.
Get started on your free 30 minute consultation today at https://advesa.com/
