Brand development is essential for every business, large and small. Your brand is what distinguishes your service or product from your competition and helps to position your business in the marketplace. Your brand elements (logo, colors, tagline, etc.) combined with your brand mission and voice, are consistently integrated into all of the communications you send to your target audience.

Defining your brand can be difficult and time-consuming. Some business owners do not know where to begin. Resources like the Maryland Small Business Development Center can help you get started.

What is the brand voice that you will use in all of your communications – web, email marketing, social media, collateral materials? Is your voice friendly, funny, authoritative, professional? This voice will mostly be determined by your target audience as well as your competition.

If you are trying to reach younger tech-savvy professionals, maybe an authoritative “stuffy” voice is not the way to go. However, if your target audience is older, more serious, and more reserved, the funny joking “voice” may seem immature or inappropriate to them. So know your audience, be careful, and choose wisely.

Once you’ve established what your company’s brand will be, it’s time to apply it to all of the branding elements.

• Create a Great Logo
  • What will your logo say about your company?
  • Who will it speak to?
  • What colors will you use? Color is powerful and evokes different emotions so think about how you want to be perceived. Read this article on Color Psychology: The Emotional Effects of Colors
• Develop a Tagline
  • This should be a meaningful concise statement that speaks to the heart of your brand. Read this article on Why Your Company Needs a Good Tagline. 

This will govern the elements of how your logo is used. Brand colors, fonts, placement, look, and feel. Write it down. Have your employees use it. Be consistent.

Your brand extends to all aspects of your business. Your marketing materials, product and service packaging, social media, how you answer the phones, email signatures, networking and sales. Be sure you have a plan in writing to describe how your brand is to be used in all of these aspects.

Take the time to develop all the points above and then consistently market your brand.

Struggling to develop your company’s brand?  Niche is here to help! Give us a call to schedule a consultation: 443-787-4951