Introduction

So first of all, what is a brand? Well if you Google it, you’ll get the very vanilla description of “a type of product manufactured by a particular company under a particular name” or the even less inspiring second description  “an identifying mark burned on livestock”. Neither of these are what we’ll be discussing today. Sure, a brand can be described as “the name of a business” but it needs to be so much more than that. It needs to be a feeling, a strong association and an emotion.

When we get a parcel delivered in the post from one of our favourite brands be it a t-shirt, a gadget or a dog brush that’s also a toothbrush and a bottle opener the experience matters. How do we go about creating an experience for our customers that will engage them and generate a feeling of connection to the brand? It all starts by getting these 5 steps right:

The 5 Steps

1. Brand Identity

What’s the first thing you think of when I say Coca Cola, FedEx or MacDonalds? Their logo right? That’s how powerful a brand identity is. Creating a strong and recognisable brand starts with your logo design, colour palette and typographies. These are usually all compiled into what’s known as a brand guidelines document. This is basically the visual bible/(insert name of preferred religious text) for your brand.

2. Print & Web Material

Once your brand identity has been created it can then be applied to your print and web material. Print material includes anything from your business card design to that little thank you card that goes neatly inside your product packaging. Web material consists of your website design, email signature design and any other web-based designs.

3. Content

Once you have your brand identity and all your print and web material ready to go you’ll need to focus on Gary Vee’s favourite aspect of business – content! Whether you’re an artisan bakery, a freelance plumber or a dental practice, you have the ability to create content and use it to create an audience and therefore sales. The most important element is to understand who your audience is and how you can bring them value through your content.

4. Marketing

You can have the most beautiful and refined content that’s themed in accordance with your brand and captured by a professional photographer called Drew with a well-groomed moustache but if nobody sees it (the content not the moustache), what’s the point? Using marketing strategies such as influencer marketing on social media and paid ads on Google or Instagram can skyrocket your business and are a great resource. Just ensure that you have the structure built into your business to cope with the increased demand efficiently.

5. Customer Service

You’ve nailed the branding, your website and business cards are looking slick, you’ve built up a couple of months worth of quality social media content and your marketing strategy is starting to pay off. What’s left to do? Provide the customer with an amazing experience! This is the part that creates that loyalty you see in customers of brands like Apple and Starbucks. Sitting down and deciding how you want to be perceived by your customers and the kind of experience you want to provide them with is critical to your brand’s ability to thrive.

Conclusion

So, in conclusion, get your logo branded onto a cow’s upper thigh and parade it around town and you should be all set right? Well, not really. Focus on building the necessary aspects of your brand like your brand identity, print and web material and your content first. Then create a plan as to how you’re going to market it to your potential customers and clients. Finally, feel into the kind of experience you want to create for your customer and launch! 

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