How To Improve Your Brand: From Faceless Business To Brilliant Brand
In today's world, where competition is fierce and customers are spoilt for choice, it is important for businesses to differentiate themselves from their competitors.
One way to do this is by improving their brand. A strong brand not only helps to establish brand recognition but also enables businesses to create an emotional connection with their customers.
The truth is, customers are more likely to choose a brand that they recognize and trust. Additionally, a strong brand helps to increase customer loyalty and retention, which, in turn, can lead to increased revenue and profitability for the business.
This article provides both an overview and a step-by-step guide on how to improve your brand. By following these steps, businesses can transform their brand, establish themselves as a strong brand in the market and gain a true competitive edge.
This article is divided into three core sections that cover the following topics:
- Is Your Business Faceless?
- What Makes a Brilliant Brand?
- How To Improve Your Brand in 7 Steps.
Is Your Business Faceless?
If a business is lacking a unique identity, it may be considered faceless. A faceless business lacks a recognizable brand that customers can identify and connect with, making it difficult for the business to stand out in the market.
Consider this: your new business is just starting to get customers. However, you don’t have a logo or any other recognizable features that will help people recognize your business.
Without an identifying logo, brand voice, and core brand story to create an emotional connection with your audience, it can be difficult to differentiate yourself from your competitors and make a memorable impression on potential customers.
You may get the odd sale here and there, but nobody is coming back for more or telling their friends about your business.
So, if you haven't tackled any of this yet, we're sorry to say, your business may be faceless. Don’t worry though – all hope isn’t lost! You can still turn things around with the right strategy and some hard work.
What Makes a Brilliant Brand?
- A brilliant brand is not just a successful business. It is a brand that has established an emotional connection with its customers through strong brand recognition. A brand that communicates its values and resonates with its target audience.
- A brilliant brand doesn't just sell. Through greater brand recognition, it turns new and existing customers into loyal customers that stick around.
- A brilliant brand stands out in the market and is able to improve brand awareness through its unique identity, consistent messaging, and exceptional customer experience.
How Newcore Capital Management improved its brand
How To Improve Your Brand in 7 Steps
Take it from us – with the right brand strategy framework and some hard work, you can turn your faceless business into a brilliant brand in no time! To help you get started, here are our top 7 steps to improving your brand.
Step 1: Trust the experts
Ahem - like us! A professional branding agency is an invaluable resource that can help you define your brand, identify target audiences, and craft a cohesive story, before designing and implementing your new brand identity.
One example of a business improving its brand with a professional branding agency is VibeIQ. Huddle’s branding experts created a much more contemporary and modern look that represents VibeIQ as the industry leader that they are.
We also applied this new look and feel across their website design and build, as well as created style guidelines for them to use moving forward.
Due to the great work of our team, Vibe IQ now has a clear, confident and consistent visual and written identity, a solid foundation to grow its brand from.
If your business is currently faceless – a branding agency like Huddle is your go-to first step. Our dedicated branding experts can walk you through the rest of these steps with confidence.
Brief us today to get started.
Step 2: Identify your brand's values
When building a strong brand, one of the first steps you're going to need to take is to identify your brand's values. Brand values are the core principles and beliefs that define your brand and will guide all other aspects of your brand strategy.
To identify your brand's values, you need to understand your business's mission, vision, and purpose. You can then analyze your competition and determine what sets your brand apart, with a clear brand value proposition an essential foundation for a strong brand strategy.
Where does your brand stand on key issues? Does your brand have a stance on sustainability or diversity and inclusion? Having a clear stance on important topics is an effective way to demonstrate your commitment to the cause and helps define who you are as a brand.
💡 Not sure where to start? Check out these brand values examples for some inspiration!
Step 3: Analyze your target audience
Knowing your target audience is important to develop a strong brand that resonates with your customers. Conducting target audience analysis allows you to understand your customers' needs, preferences, and pain points.
To conduct a target audience analysis, you need to gather demographic and psychographic information about your customers. This information can be collected through surveys, focus groups, and social media listening.
For example, Nike's brand strategy of targeting and empowering athletes as an audience has helped the company establish itself as a leading sports brand.
Step 4: Develop a branding strategy
Speaking of brand strategies – one core element of brand building (I.E. improving your brand) is developing a comprehensive branding strategy. A solid brand strategy will provide guidelines for all aspects of your brand, from the design of your logo and website to how you communicate with customers.
Developing a cohesive story that resonates with target audiences is key and should be the core focus of your brand strategy. This includes crafting content and a targeted brand image that will help differentiate your business from competitors and building a strong strategy for reaching your target audience.
One great example of a business improving its brand strategy is the digital solutions company, Future Platforms. Huddle's branding experts were tasked with providing a new brand strategy and updated website design that clearly communicated the brand’s expertise and establishment in the industry – something their current strategy didn’t do.
By updating key aspects of their brand identity and digital channels to match their industry authority, the team at Future Platforms was able to deliver maximum impact on these channels and increase their market presence.
Want results like these? Brief us today to get started.
Step 5: Create a unique visual identity
Dropbox and Collins: Dropbox rebrand (Copyright © Dropbox, 2017)
A consistent visual identity is essential for building a strong brand. A unique visual identity helps customers identify your brand and distinguish it from competitors.
To create a unique visual identity, you need to consider elements such as logo design, colour scheme, typography, and imagery. It is important to ensure consistency in all visual elements to establish a strong brand identity.
One great B2B brand identity example is Dropbox. Dropbox underwent a significant change in 2017 by partnering with the design studio Collins for a complete rebranding, which marked the biggest transformation of the company's visual identity since it was founded ten years ago.
The brand introduced a rebrand that included using Sharp Grotesk typography, collaborating with illustrators to create vibrant illustrations and edgy portraits, and creating a "cleaner and simpler" logo icon. The result was a much-needed energy boost to the brand's image.
Step 6: Leverage digital channels
Digital channels, including social media channels, can be used to improve brand value, increase brand awareness, and drive brand recognition. It is essential for businesses to leverage digital channels to build a strong online presence.
To leverage digital channels, businesses can use social media management platforms to engage with customers, share their brand story, and promote their products or services. Additionally, businesses can use SEO to increase website traffic and improve search engine rankings.
One option to support this is to use guest posting service providers, done right these providers produce high-quality content that is publshed on real world reputable websites within a releavant industry. This helps position your brand as an authority, and supports your SEO efforts.
Take the example of the leading events sector UK PR & communications agency LD Communications, who work with some of the most well-known, respected household names and brands. However, their digital channels were not reflecting the professional authority and experience they desired to portray.
The branding experts at Huddle created a bespoke website design that reflected the company's high-end position and integrated new icons into the digital layout. We redesigned the website's UX and UI to highlight its premium quality, keeping all aspects of the brand identity consistent in the process.
Now, the LD Communications website serves as a captivating and educational digital channel for both their existing and prospective partners. The website has been improved to better represent the brand and is now aligned with its original vision.
Step 7: Build a community around your brand
Research defines a brand community as a specialized, non-geographically bound community, based on a structured set of social relations among admirers of a brand.
Building a community around your brand can improve brand value and create a loyal customer base. A strong brand community allows customers to feel connected to your brand's values and purpose.
To build a community around your brand, you need to create a brand voice and brand story that accurately represent your brand values. You can then engage with customers through social media, marketing events, and customer loyalty programs.
It’s important to remember, however, that a brand community must provide the right type of value to your audience. As HBR states:
“People participate in communities for a wide variety of reasons—to find emotional support and encouragement, to explore ways to contribute to the greater good, and to cultivate interests and skills, to name a few. For members, brand communities are a means to an end, not an end in themselves.”
This golden nugget of advice is true for any brand or business looking to build a strong and loyal community. By providing the right type of value to your target audience across any community channel, you can ensure that they will stay engaged in your community and come back for more.
Closing Thoughts
Improving your brand provides businesses with a competitive advantage in the market. By following the steps outlined in this article, businesses can create a strong brand identity, establish a loyal customer base, and increase revenue and profitability.
At Huddle, we understand the importance of branding and are here to help businesses improve their brand. We offer comprehensive branding services that include everything from brand strategy to logo design and website development. Get in touch to learn more!
Brief us today to get started.
How To Improve Your Brand: FAQs
How can I improve my business branding?
Improving your business branding involves creating a strong brand identity that resonates with your target audience. This can be achieved by identifying your brand's values, analyzing your target audience, and creating a unique visual identity.
Additionally, leveraging digital channels and building a community around your brand can help improve brand value and recognition.
What are the 4 steps to building a successful brand?
The four steps to building a successful brand are:
- Define your brand values
- Analyze your target audience
- Create a unique visual identity
- Leverage digital channels to build a community around your brand.
By following these steps, you’ll be well on your way to building a strong and successful brand.