When people think of branding, they immediately think it only requires sticking a logo in their product or service. Sure it’s one of the things you need when you want to elevate your business. But branding goes way beyond that. As Kotler puts it, branding is the combination of elements that help identify your business and differentiate it from others.
Branding doesn’t have to be expensive. But it should be planned carefully. The identity you want your customers to associate with you has to be consistent across every touchpoint.
Logo
The logo is the first thing most people see as the end-all, be-all of branding. But this should not just be any shape or some abstract thing. Maersk Line for example, is a white star with 7 points, representing the world’s 7 seas. This shows Maersk’s goal of working across all oceans. The logo is also white and blue, representing the sea and the star is a reminder as well of the founder’s life story, when Maersk was not as huge as it is now. And I don’t have to go that far. C4B Strategies logo is combined of two curving lines: one broken into colors, the other solid. This represents how we want to connect all the pieces that our clients have into one cohesive output.
Color Palette
It’s not enough to choose colors because you like them. There’s a psychology behind the colors and how you apply them should speak to your audience about your product or services. For example, financial institutions like Citi use shades of blue, as the color signals trust and reliability. Earth tones are usually used to appeal to more grounded, natural and adventurous markets, like how Timberland and The North Face do.
Many brands use color as a signal, and psychologically influence how your customers feel when they encounter your brand.
Brand Voice
Think about the voice in your head when you read a Facebook ad. Does it come across as caring and compassionate? Challenging and inviting you to take action? An expert with a clear answer to your problem? That’s how brand voice should be developed. It’s not a literal voice; it’s the tone your brand uses consistently across written and audio materials that will be visible to the public. Coca-Cola’s advertisements often focus on family, sharing, and celebration. One of my clients, who operates a primary care practice, often uses ad copy that is informative yet compassionate. And it resonates when it’s consistent with your target market. Brand voice is often overlooked, but it’s how you talk your customers and reach potential ones.
Iconography and Typography
Fonts and icons work the same way. They set the tone for your marketing materials. Clean lines and rounded shapes feel approachable. Sharp edges and bold lines feel strong and formal. Think about it this way, if you’re a financial institution, would you send messages to your customers using Comic Sans and a smiley face emoticon? I think not. We see brands like Google use rounded sans serif typography and bold colors and simple icons because even as a tech company they don’t want to appear complicated. Their services feel approachable, which helps SMEs. And their business services are widely utilized by individuals – from email services, Google Sheets and even ads for their businesses. Apple uses minimalist typography and flat iconography, consistently projecting efficiency, innovation and simplicity, with a price tag a lot of people are willing to pay for.
We could go on and on about tagline, brand story etc. There’s still more you can do to strengthen branding but we feel the ones we’ve mentioned are important foundations that any SME can start with. So why is branding important?
- Your brand represents the benefit you deliver to your customers.
- Consistently used, branding can inspire customer loyalty and attract new ones. It builds trust with your target market.
- It sets you apart from your competitors. You’re probably dealing with big local businesses and global conglomerates, offering the same benefits. Having a distinct brand will set you apart from the rest.
- It saves money in the long run. Whenever you launch a new product or venture into a new channel, the identity you’ve built via branding is something you can easily carry over.
- It will help you scale. As entrepreneurs, we always have to think big. We should aim to be known by a wider audience. And when you do scale, it makes it easier for new people to represent your business, without diluting what you stand for.
Branding isn’t decoration; it’s how people recognize, trust, and choose you—so getting the basics right makes every peso or dollar you spend work harder.
