Branding is what your business needs to break through the clutter and grab your ideal customer’s attention. It’s what transforms first-time buyers into lifetime customers and turns an indifferent audience into brand evangelists. It’s what you need to stand out, make an impact and take your business to the next level.
Your brand is the set of perceptions people have about your company. But branding is the set of actions you take to cultivate that brand. From the logo, persona or voice of the brand, positioning yourself on critical matters that affects all, creating a union of minds to achieve something bigger among your employees, to valuing your company in the millions, investing in a strategy that correlates to your targets is crucial in a successful and most importantly, easy journey.
What it isn’t anymore
Branding was aimed at differentiation among the competition using various media. This has vastly changed.
Branding in SME’s
Most businessmen I’ve met has this daunting idea that branding and logo design is like purchasing a paper weight. For them, even a brick would get the job done. “Where can I get it done the cheapest and quickest” is their motto and imagine if they did the same when they purchased flashy new cars.
Who reaps the benefit?
Gone are the days when branding was only for competition. Now, it encompasses a vast subject that affects both internal and external factors of a business. From identifying your target market to creating loyal customers and employees, branding is ensuring key satisfaction through all touch points.
To validate brand strategies
Always make sure you are paying not only for design, but also for the research.
Research on the competition
Research on use case scenarios
Typography, shapes and colours used
Definitely keep in mind that all documentation, emails, invoices, presentations, e-flyers, videos and other media should be visually engaging, easy to use, and most important of all a reflection of who you are as a brand. Make sure the concept of brand is captured in your marketing and content strategies. Sometimes, the brand creation process is wasted at the hands of marketing managers who are only being pushed to sell, while nurturing the brand and customer loyalty, rewards much higher than a sales cycle. Prioritise options to collect responses from each platform, KPI’s to measure performance and strategies to review and improve the voice, persona and story of the brand. Stop selling and start serving!
Branding costs in Australia
Like all creative work, do not expect a reputable individual or agency to create a brand with a compelling argument that fits your criteria and intentions for anything less than $10,000. If you are only in the market for logo design and visual identity, you should expect prices from anywhere between $15,000 - $75,000. If you want a team to work on your brand story, message and positioning included, the cost could start from $30,000.
If you are planning to quit halfway, you should not be in business. I have met clients who offered $250 for a project to whom I always say, “you can save that $250 too, just get a free logo designer app like Canva. Two buttons and you have a logo in 3 minutes”. You can either invest in a brand strategy that creates traction and interest organically or cheap out on the process and be ready to plummet thousands into advertising alone.
But if you are here for the long game, starting with a strong branding in motion, it will be an arsenal when it matters most. Think of it as a well structured foundation to your dream home. Also, a brand creation process could take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, depending on the scope of the project, line items and the size of the team. Evaluate your company’s branding in your next monthly meeting. If you don’t know where to start, click here. StratFo will take it from there. Sign up to our blog to receive newsletters with more in-depth analysis and step-by-step guides to nurture your leads!