There is nothing more powerful and satisfying than shouting at the system; “I had enough! I’m going my way…” Becoming your own boss, launching a new project, product, service or developing any other idea you have in mind to get control of your future, is a dream shared by a huge portion of the global population, but only a few have the guts to do it.
Walking into this adventure is not easy at all. It takes pride, determination, hard work and courage to empower yourself and grab your destiny with your bare hands and steer it to success and financial freedom. However, it is possible and if you are reading this most probably you have already passed the start line.
You know what you want and how you plan to get there. You might already know the type of service, project, or product you plan to offer to your new potential customers. The big questions are: How to get the word out and how to do it right? With so many important things to consider, it is common underestimating the importance of knowing how to brand your project. This is serious business. Even if you grow the best coffee in the world, it will worth noting unless people know about your product. What it is? Why you want it? Where and how to get it?
Understanding the importance of branding
Most startups and entrepreneurs are not afraid of diving into the business world. Nevertheless, in order to successfully emerge and avoid drowning trying, you need to be methodical in the whole process. This includes not only designing the best advertising and branding campaigns, but also selecting the correct branding alternatives, marketing products and choosing the accurate moments or launching time.
Branding correctly is extremely important to achieve success. When you are able to build a creative and eye-catching design, boosted with accurate strategies your brand will not only stand out in your market area, but it will also create an emotional and psychological connection with your target audience. However, branding takes more than just a cool logo or brand design. It is the sum of all the different elements that combined creates your brand identity.
Your logos, taglines, designs, company name, services, products, history, and many more, are all part of your business identity. All these elements, in addition to your reputation, customer’s memories and expectations, which are part of the client’s experience, are also the main part of your brand’s identity. Consider it as its core. It is how you want your business or project to be perceived and the way your customers actually perceive it. The more familiar your target audience feels your brand, the more attached they’ll be to it.
Branding benefits for new businesses
It doesn’t matter how new your business is or how big or small your budget is. You need and must invest in logo design, cool commercial signage, lobby signs, vehicle wraps and any other advertising option you can think of, to get in the game. It is an often-made mistake by startups and entrepreneurs to consider that branding is a commercial alternative available strictly to large enterprises. However, a well-designed creative commercial signage is just an example of affordable options that could be a perfect key to success to start branding your new business.
A well-planned, well-designed and professionally built branding strategy can provide a wide range of benefits to startups, for instance:
Branding can expand your target audience
When you select the proper branding strategy, designed by professionals it is easy to generate new customers. A single striking banner placed at the correct event or a cool commercial wrap on your business fleet can reach more and different audiences than the ones previously visualized. Branding is one of the best ways to get word-of-mouth referrals to your business.
Branding can introduce you into the game
It is imperative to get immediate recognition if you wish to establish yourself as a new option in your particular market or area. Accurate branding can help to put you in business. You need to get recognized by your target audience as soon as possible. A logo, a cool business sign, window graphics anything that helps to stand your business from the rest will boost your chances of been recognized.
Even when commercial signage can be an affordable option it is important to look for professional help to properly design and install it. You can take advantage of any different commercial visual elements to establish your business’ face in the market.
Branding builds trust
As we mentioned earlier, customers trust more of the brands that seem familiar to them. Those that they feel they identify with. The more connection your target audience feels with your brand, the more likely for them to do business with you.
This is why is so important to create a solid and professional image with your different branding options, like business signs, vehicle fleet wraps or window graphics. If you are able to professionally present yourself, customers will be more comfortable trusting you with their project.
Branding can boost your staff’s productivity
Just as a well-designed branding strategy can create trust and identity in potential customers, it can work the same way towards your staff. A motivated and inspired staff member who feels identified with the position and functions developed inside the enterprise and that truly believes in the business’ soul, purposes and mission will work hard to achieve all the personal and collective goals inside the enterprise.
Branding keeps your business attractive
Refreshing your branding strategies and elements like logo, business sign or any other visual element used to advertise your business, service, project or product, will keep your brand on top of the game. It is also imperative that your potential customers perceive constant evolution and improvement in your branding elements. Otherwise, it is easy for customers to lose interest.
Branding to success
EGD is a great branding alternative for startups.
Branding is all about creating your brand identity; reaching out your target audience and making them feel familiar, identified, trustful and confident of your project, services or products. Your business goals, vision, mission, its tone, logo, colors, signage and all the visual elements used to let people know about you, are part of your business identity and it is vital that each one of them can represent you separately as well as complementing of each other. This is hard to achieve and as we mentioned before, it requires a methodical process.
Breaking down the process of effective branding
There is a wide range of steps and tasks to perform in order to create your brand identity and establish it. Depending on the market, audience, product or service, theses steps may vary as well as their order. However, the main ones usually stay the same.
Targeting the correct audience
The main element in your business is and will always be your target audience, your potential customers. Without them you are simply nothing, therefore, they should always be on top, including of course, in your branding strategy planning. Probably, you already have a pretty good idea of who your target audience is. However, this exercise has to be done over and over in basically all of the different steps in the process that involves managing a business.
Knowing well your target audience will help to accurately define your brand identity. Think of what your potential customers want and need, how they want it, how they ask for it and why they need it? It is vital to understanding your potential customers’ needs and problems in order to present yourself as the solution.
Creating your tone and aspect
Before passing to the conception of your logo or slogans, it is vital to set your business’ tone. Remember your potential customers must relate with you to a personal and emotional level. You need to look and speak like them. They have to feel that you are part of their life, one you are more of the crew.
Logo and slogans
Once you have defined your personality, you can start considering your logo and slogans. Remember that your brand must communicate in a language that is appealing to your target audience, including your visual communication. When creating your logo and slogan it is important to keep it this in mind.
In both cases, these elements are what customers remember most of your business. They need to be simple and catchy. Potential customers must be able to see, read, understand and retain your brand identity in a blink of an eye. Therefore, it is vital to speak the same language and boost it with colors and textures that will make it more familiar and attractive.
At Husky Creative our Logo & Graphic Design team is composed of experts in developing and delivering a winning and successful visual identity for your business that creates that belonging sense to your potential customers. We take your visual communications to a higher mark, through simple, but exciting and stimulating visual graphics.
Selecting the best branding channels
Now that you have well established your target audience and your business’ identity, you can start considering the best way or channels available to reach your potential customers and establish your brand. It is common for startups to mistakenly consider that branding and marketing products are extremely expensive and exclusive for big companies.
Nevertheless, there are a lot of marketing strategies and products you can take advantage of to advertise and establish your brand in an effective and affordable way.
Most effective and affordable branding products
Once again, it is vital to state that every business or project is different and according to your business’ goals, services, products, target audience, market moments and a lot of other factors, you need to set your branding strategy. That being said, here are the most popular, effective and affordable options an entrepreneur or startup can rely on, to establish their brand.
Vehicle graphic wraps
This a great and one of the most popular branding options for startups. Vehicle wraps are extremely affordable when you compare it to their return on investment. Car wraps provide a 24/7, mobile, non-stop advertising campaign that is paid only once and can last for as long as you wish.
A business wrapped vehicle has the power to easily reach, impress and target the market or demographic your company or ad campaign is trying to capture. In addition, it can expand your target audience by reaching more potential customers, you didn’t even imagine. It is as simple as driving around new neighborhoods.
At Husky Creative, you can choose from a fully wrap car, a partial wrap, spot graphics or wrapping a complete commercial vehicle fleet, transforming them into an advertising machine generating millions of impressions a year, taking your business to the next level.
Environmental graphic design
Environmental graphic design or experiential graphic design is a perfect combination of a wide range of different visual elements like materials, images, colors, patterns, textures, illustration, signage and typography, between many more, and design disciplines arranged in harmony with the built environment and architectural features of your surroundings to tell a story, convey specific messages or goals, creating a unique and memorable experience to the visitor.
The environmental graphic designing has endless uses and purposes like business productivity, wayfinding, projecting specific emotions on particular rooms, and many more. A startup can make great use of environmental graphic design to brand their project. Affordable elements like multi-dimensional signs, wall murals and window graphics can provide amazing EGD benefits for a low price.
Commercial Signs
Commercial signs have been an all-time favorite for small businesses since ever. They are extremely versatile, affordable and today, they can be built from a wide range of materials, styles, types, sizes and shapes. In order to decide which commercial signage suits best to your business or project, it is important to consider where you plan to place it. Start by asking yourself if you are looking for an interior or exterior signage. This could help to determine the type, style and materials of your commercial sign.
Interior signs
Interior signs are amazing options to add elegance to your business while establishing your brand once visitors are inside your store. Retail, office, event centers, lobbies or any other commercial space will benefit from well-designed and placed interior signage. They can vary from a primary logo to way-finding, or an emotional graphic in a waiting room.
Exterior signs
Exterior signs are amazing options to start branding your business or project. New startups often overlook the benefits of having a cool exterior sign. In fact, many good businesses have failed due to a lack of effective exterior signs. Once again thinking on the soul of your business and your potential customers’ identity can help to determine the best exterior sign design for your business.
It is also important to consider where and how you plan to install it. Think of the different materials, types shape size and weight it could have, so it doesn’t become a potential hazard. Depending on if you want an upper story electrical back-lit, 3D channel or neon sign, a ground-level wall or a simple door sign, you will need to consider special installation features and conditions. You should consider hiring a professional sign expert, to avoid unexpected issues.
Husky Creative has the experience, the skills, knowledge and talent to create a brand new logo, signage or any other graphic commercial element for your startup or polish old existing logos and advertising elements taking visual communications to a higher level. We pride ourselves in being the best One-Stop Shop for graphic design, logo development, commercial signs, vehicle and fleet wraps and digital prints, helping entrepreneurs and startups for decades to brand their projects.
