Do your research. This is a very simple, but a time-consuming step in design that some business owners neglect—to the detriment of their bottom line. One of the purposes of branding is to raise the perceived value of your product or service. Branding is developed to make your product memorable and stand out to customers. It will also make it easier to launch new products and create a long-term customer base. One of the purposes of branding is to raise the perceived value of your product or service. Branding is developed to make your product memorable and stand out to customers.
Branding is not something pretty used to represent your company “just because.” Rather, branding can make you appear more professional and trustworthy. People are visual creatures. By capitalizing on the benefits of branding your business website you will increase sales.
Branding isn’t just your visual identity, it also embodies every aspect your customer comes in contact with. Branding affects your email marketing and social media channels, to your customer service and product packaging. Branding even affects your post-purchase follow up with customers. Everything your customer comes into contact with about your company represents your brand. Your customer experience is more important than something “pretty” or “slick.” By developing a branding strategy for your business website, you solidify the message to your customers of what your company is about and build their trust. This will improve your bottom line.
Branding affects your email marketing and social media channels, to your customer service and product packaging.
How do you or your web designer do research?
First steps, designer meets with you. When you are in the research phase of designing a branding identity, your designer should have a preliminary information discussion with you that gathers basic as well as more detailed information. First, basic details such as your company name, location, years of operation, web address, etc.
Then, your designer should know what you sell and to whom. How much does it cost? Where have you been selling previously? What’s your company’s mission? Why are you selling this particular product or service? What are your goals for your new brand identity or logo design? Are you trying to enter a new market, or grow an existing one? What deliverable do you need? Your designer should either get you to fill out a questionnaire or book a meeting to go over the project. Initially, I like using a questionnaire to get my clients thinking about their branding strategy. I then follow that up with an in-person meeting or video conference. The questionnaire gets clients thinking about the details of their project so that you don’t waste time during the design consultation.
Focus groups, statistics, and your marketing plan.
Research how your competition is branding. You want to stand out, be unique. You could visit your competition’s store and see how they market themselves. What makes you different from them? Online research is helpful. When you see a brand that appeals to you, take a moment to figure out what you like about it. What do you not like? By combining your branding research with your initial marketing plan you should be able to start developing a strong brand for your business website. If these tasks seem daunting then hiring a graphic designer is a smart choice. A graphic designer will be able to assemble the research needed to develop a strong branding identity.
