Build your Brand

A strong brand can increase awareness about your organization, build customer loyalty and boost sales. How do you build a strong brand? Your branding needs to remain actionable, be consistent throughout all communications and be differentiated from your competitors.

Know the value of a strong brand.
A strong brand can not only increase awareness of your organization and build customer loyalty, it can also enhance recruiting of employees or volunteers and boost sales.

What is a brand?
A brand is an intangible business asset that gains value through careful use and support over time.

• It's your identity in the marketplace. A brand is what people think of first when they think of your business or organization; the qualities that make your business unique and desirable to do work with.
• It's the promise that you make (and keep) to customers and prospects. Think of the best companies you know. The experience of doing business with them is consistently satisfying. Do your customers feel the same way?
• It's your image and everything you do to support it. A brand starts with your company name and logo and ends with the things customers say about you when you're not there. In between is every communication between your customers and employees, every product you deliver, every square foot of your facilities and everything you do and say, everyday.

Assess your brand value.
How well is your brand performing? Does it need a tune up - or is a major overhaul in order? Ask yourself these questions:

• Do your customers recognize your name and logo? Do they know what it stands for?
• Does your brand differentiate your business from those of your competitors? Does it open the door to new opportunities?
• Are you satisfied that your brand positions you differently than your competitors and sets you apart in customers' minds?
• Do your employees know how to deliver on your brand promise consistently, day to day?

Build a better brand.
If your brand no longer fits who you are or where you want to go, it may be time for a change. Here are five steps to get you started:

1. Do your homework. Ask your customers, and your employees, what they value most about your business. Investigate industry trends - where do you want your business to be in five years? In ten? Evaluate the brand promises of your competitors - how can you differentiate yourself from the pack?
2. Develop or revitalize your brand identity. Whether you have creative staff in-house or work with an outside agency that specializes in brand development, your research will help your creative team brainstorm several ideas for a new or updated business name, logo, graphic design and possible tagline.
3. Test your ideas with a focus group. It's surprising how a "perfect" concept developed in a creative meeting can go down in flames when tested on members of the target audience. Assemble a diverse group of potential customers or constituents, listen carefully to how they react to your brand ideas, and incorporate their input into a revised version of your new brand.
4. Train your employees. They are the human face of your company. Make sure they understand and are committed to the promises your brand makes and the key messages you want to deliver.
5. Use and protect your brand image in everything you do - from your customer presentations to the brochure you leave behind, your brand can become one of your most valuable business assets if you use it consistently. We can help you bring your brand to life in all your print communications. From assisting you in developing the tools you need to communicate to customers and employees to maintaining digital files of all your orders for simplified reprints, we can help you make the most of your brand.