When you think of a brand, what do you picture? For a lot of people, the visual aspects pop up first, and they think of a logo and brand colors. While that’s an essential part of a business’ first impression, the customer journey has become so complicated these days that you never know when a customer will be first exposed to your brand. Because of that, it’s important to have a strong, consistent identity both online and in-person—and what better time to evaluate that then in the spring! We all have spring cleaning on our mind, so let’s see if your brand needs a refresh. Here are some of the most essential aspects of your brand, what they should entail, and when you might need to think about a rebrand.
Mission Statement
Essentially, this is the core mission of your business. Why did you start it, and how do you want it to affect others and those you employ? A clear mission on why your business continues and how you present it to the world will help you appear authentic. As a business evolves and grows, the mission statement might too. Is yours still accurate?
Tagline
A clear one-liner can have a huge effect on how your business is remembered by others. Just think of all the ones you probably know: “I’m lovin’ it”, “Just Do It”, and even a local one for the Minnesotans: “Your Friend in the Jewelry Business.” It’s common for businesses to go through a couple versions of this until they find the one that catches and truly encompasses their business. Have you found the one yet? Or is it time to try again?
Brand Language
Once you’ve started to pin down your business’ personality, it should be consistently represented in your content across all avenues. Are you more formal? Informal? Look through your website, social media, blogs, and newsletters to see if you’ve been consistent in your business’ “voice” in them all. If not, then it may be time for a guide or to have a content marketer help.
Logo
Visual-wise, your logo is the most important part of your brand. This will most likely be what your audience formulates their first impression on, so you want to put your best foot forward. A logo that looks dated, for example, will reflect on your business and could look like you’re outdated as well. People want to work with companies that are relevant and have a fresh outlook.
Brand Colors
Similar to the logo, the colors you’ve chosen to focus on when representing your business will say a lot without words. Graphic designers know a lot about color theory, and people unconsciously know that too. A certain kind of yellow, for instance, can look sickly in some cases and not be appealing to the common eye. A business definitely would not want to use that and instead try out a sunny yellow that better presents their brand’s personality. Think about how you define your company and try to narrow it down to a couple words. Then, see if those translate into the colors you’re using. If there’s not a clear translation, then it might be time to update.
Website Design & Content
Your website should have a design that creates a sense of trust—not of regret. Cohesive design encourages strong community growth around your brand and can give website visitors a reason to use your services or purchase from you. If you end up having an inconsistent brand online and offline, your company could start to feel untrustworthy and deter people from coming back. This also relates to relevant website content. Using up-to-date keyword terms in your website content not only gets the most out of Google’s search engine—it can also give an edge to your brand’s voice to increase relevancy to prospective customers.
Target Audience
When was the last time you reassessed your audience? Even if you think you’ve been appealing to the same demographic for years, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s true. Maybe your original goal was to target single women in their 30s, but your marketing has been successfully appealing to married women in their 30s instead. If the strategy has been working for your business, then it might be time to evaluate how you can continue it and how you can open up the market to another demographic you wanted.
Whether you’re looking for a full rebrand or some help with streamlining your marketing, the experts at That’s My Idea Marketing are here to help. We’re a full-service marketing agency focused on small business strategies to help you work smarter, not harder.