Branding: Keep it Fresh!

Your brand is your image as a business. It’s your identity! People look to your brand, oftentimes summed up with your logo or slogan, to gain an understanding of what you stand for and what it would be like to business with you. It’s important to come up with a brand that defines your business and attracts the people you are trying target. This is a complicated process that includes gaining an understanding of your target market while trying to gain an understanding of your business. Your brand should stay fresh and relevant to build brand recognition and loyalty. Whether you have an existing brand identity, or you’re in the process of building your brand, here are some things to consider!

• Review your brand strategy regularly. Talk with customers and employees, ask them what they honestly think of the brand. What is working? What isn’t working? There may be parts of your brand that are great – maybe your slogan is appealing, but your logo is looking a little dated. Or it might just be time for some rebranding! Stay on top of your brand and check in from time to time to avoid getting stale.
• Keep your brand relevant! Check out your competitors – what are they doing with their brand identity? Is it working? Don’t just look at competitors in your market, check out similar businesses in larger and smaller markets to see what they are up to. This will give you an idea of trends within your industry, some of which you may not have been aware of.
• If something isn’t working, don’t be afraid to change it. Sometimes we put so much time and effort into something, if it doesn’t work we try to force it so that all that time and effort don’t go down the toilet. You can’t afford to make this mistake in business or it’ll end up costing you. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. Don’t be afraid to scrap it and seek out some help!
• On the flip side, don’t just change something on a whim. Rebranding and alterations to your image should be done with much forethought and planning. If your market shifts slightly, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s time for a brand overhaul – give it some time and isolate what’s working and what’s not.
• It never hurts to do a survey! Check out what your customers think of your brand or logo. Utilize social media or send out an email to your list with instructions on how to complete the survey. Even asking people to do a quick survey in the store, or just speaking to them about your brand. Getting outside perspectives is great to the evolution process.
• Keep an open mind. If you had an idea way back when you started, but you went a different route and all of a sudden that idea might just work, don’t be afraid to change. You can’t think for your customers. If there’s something that an outside perspective brings to the table, don’t be afraid to mull it over – just because it’s not your idea or you might not like it at first, doesn’t mean it won’t work.
• Invest in your brand! Hiring a graphic designer to take a look at your logo and a marketer to look at your branding strategy is a great idea. They are the professionals. They can do the market research and they have the expertise to know what is going to work for your business and what won’t. It’s important to treat your brand as an investment in your business – it is your identity after all!

Your brand is integral to the success of your business. It’s ok if you’re not a graphic design genius or a marketing whiz – if you’re not sure what direction to go, don’t be afraid of hiring someone to do it for you. Fusion Group USA can help your business with branding, logo design, and marketing. We have the artists and the marketing knowledge to create a comprehensive, professional identity for your business. Call today for more details on how to get your branding journey started (or to change course)!