Branding for your business

There are four key elements in a successful brand strategy:

The big idea

The big idea is the starting point for any branding project. It is a summary of your business' or product's 'personality', and what makes it different. To find your big idea, you must first look very carefully at your business and the marketplace you operate in. You need to ask yourself:

• What are we offering?
• What makes us different?
• How can our business stand out?
• What do our consumers want or need?
• Where is there a gap in the market?

You may find it helpful to get an outside perspective, for example from:

• a management consultant
• a business development consultant
• a design consultant

There will be a cost attached to this.

Vision

Your company vision is an understanding of where your business is going, or where you want it to go, so you can plan your journey. Your vision may be large scale - such as switching the emphasis of your business from one core area to another. Or it could be simple, such as offering an existing product to a new market.

Values

Your brand values define what your business stands for and believes in. These values shape how people perceive your business and guide how you operate. However, it can be tricky to communicate values. Branding and design consultants can help you communicate them effectively.

You can communicate your brand values through:

• language
• advertising
• graphic design
• staff training
• materials used in product manufacture

Personality

Your brand personality is the character and tone your business conveys. It’s how you want customers to perceive your product or service, and it needs to feel authentic and appropriate for your industry.

You can convey your company's personality through:

• graphic design and your visual identity
• the tone of voice and the language you use
• your dialogue with customers and how they can contribute ideas and get involved
• customer service and how staff are trained to communicate with customers

Read more aboutdesigning a successful brand.