Do you ever go to the store and look at a product and question whether you should purchase it or not just because of the way it is packaged? Or do you ever visit a website and look at it and go, “I just don’t trust it. The design is just not up to par. It just doesn’t look right. I’m going to go somewhere else, purchase another product for more money, because I just don’t trust that it’s going to take my credit card”?
The way your product or service is presented has a huge impact on potential customers. If the packaging or branding does not evoke some kind of emotion or psychological association that’s positive, prospects will not connect with your business and buy.
A brand is usually the first thing people see and how they identify with you and your business. That’s why it’s so imperative to invest time to getting your brand up to standards. It doesn’t matter how good your product or service is. Nobody is going to give it a second look if your branding sucks.
This is something that most entrepreneurs that are starting out, small businesses, kind of take to the side and don’t think it’s important. But it actually is the most important thing, because, these days, being digital and on the web, nobody can really tell the size of your business.
Let’s talk about branding and what it is. Branding is visual storytelling. A brand is not just a name or a visual element representing your business. It’s the evoked emotions and psychological associations that a person makes with your company, service, or product.
What branding should do are these five things. It should communicate your business voice visually, set the tone for expected deliverables, build trust in your customers, evoke positive feelings in customers, and establish your presence in the market.
Let me give you an example, a real world example. Let’s say we’re going on a date. Let’s say you’re going on a date with me, single people. I show up in sweats and no makeup and my hair in a bun, doesn’t matter how great I’m talking and doesn’t matter how smart I am, you’re going to look at me and go, “No,” because we process visual data 60,000 times faster by the brain than text.
It’s the same thing whenever your kids go to a toy store, and they’re walking down the aisle. Let’s say you have a toy company, and you created this awesome product, but you put it in a brown bag. Then your kids are running up and down the aisle of the toy store. They’re not going to grab the product that’s not packaged well.
They’re actually going to grab the little Lego man product on there that’s got primary colors of blue and red and yellow. He’s flying off the packaging because it’s more exciting. It evokes those emotions in those kids. This is really exciting. I really want to get this!
Whenever you think about branding, there are three forward strategies I want you to think about.
1. Do your research whether in the phase of creating a brand or you’re revamping a brand. See what your competitors are doing. Make a list of products and companies that have good and bad branding, and list what you like and don’t like.
2. Take time to do it right. Great branding doesn’t have to be expensive or even complicated because, these days, there are so many resources online. But take time to create a nice logo, a nice website, and content that represents your business, that tells a story of your business. It keeps your branding consistent throughout.
3. Don’t overcomplicate it. Keep it clean and simple. Remember that most people shop these days on mobile anyway. Anything that goes on the phone, the design has to be simple. Most people don’t have a lot of time to read, so don’t put a lot of copy in there. Just keep it clean and nice.
The takeaway today is your brand should be one of the most important aspects of your business because it’s the first thing clients see and how they identify with your business.
I hope this helps. If you enjoyed this podcast, please share with your friends and colleagues. If there are any other topics on running a business or building a brand you’d like to hear about, please leave a comment.
All my best to you, hardworking entrepreneurs. Keep rocking and dream big!
Kasia Johnson
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