Whether you are a freelance contractor, a small business or a blue chip multinational everything that is seen reflects on you!
It's easy to think that a simple letter to a close client doesnt have to be on headed paper because they know who you are or you just didnt have any. Such a simple thing like this starts an unfolding of your brand identity and peoples perception of who you are.
“A brand is not a product. It is the sum total of everything a company does — the good, the bad and even the off strategy — that creates a large context or an identity in the consumer’s mind.”
Scott Bedbury
Formerly of Nike and Starbucks
The Lawlor Review, Winter 2000
The importance of brand identity is one of the most underestimated areas within businesses. Continuity is the key to success so there needs to be company guidelines to make sure that the company has a strong and powerful image. Your brand should tell people what you want them to know about you before they read anything.
According to , the most frequently violated law of branding is consistency. “Markets may change, but brands shouldn’t,” notes Ries and Ries. “They may be bent slightly or given a new slant, but their essential characteristics (once those characteristics are firmly planted in the mind) should never be changed.”
Al Ries and Laura Ries,
co-authors of The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding
Lack of consistency is certainly a common pitfall for many design and construction firms, especially in sales and marketing materials. All too often, proposals are generated with different logos and no consistent message or theme throughout. The harm in such a practice is the next time your company is submitting a proposal to the same firm, your name may not even trigger a memory with them. By providing a consistent message in your proposals and presentations, your company develops a personality and creates credibility in the marketplace. Your proposals will stand out amongst the crowd by developing a clear and consistent message.
To a company their logo may seem tires and out dated, but remember you are lookin at it hundreds of times a week. To an existing client or contact it resembles who you are. To a new client it is what they will remember you by. Small tweaks and refreshing the logo can be considered (Take someone like BP for example) but remember that people associate you with that logo!
You may not be able to afford the expensive advertisement in the local business publication, but you can develop an in-house newsletter to send to clients, place job site signs at projects, as well as develop a website. The key to success in building a compelling brand identity lies in the development of a well thought out action plan and consistency in all you do, send and touch in the community.
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