Branding makes a big difference in the way potential customers or clients see your business.
You have a business to run. Employees, finances, clients, products, contracts and countless other things are at the top of your mind. But what about the visual aspects of your company? How do potential clients or customers see your business?
If you want potential clients to see your business as consistent, reliable and current, branding (in addition to your service or product), is a huge asset. Anything you are putting out there should look like it's coming from you - from business cards to brochures to banners. This means staying within the same color pallet, font choices and general tone is going to benefit your business in a big way.
For a visual reference, take a peek at the image below. It shows three materials belonging to one business. The one on the left side shows consistency across the board and the right uses different colors, fonts and the materials don't even look like they came from the same place.
Which one, if you were just glancing at the material, would you view or look at first? I'm guessing the left side.
All your materials (digital and physical), should look like they are coming from the same place. And most importantly, they should look like they are YOURS. This not only helps attract new clients, but also helps current clients recognize your materials.
Another way to put the importance of branding into perspective is by comparing it to emails. Would you want half your employees sending emails from johndoe@yourcompany.com and half from johndoe.yourcompany@gmail.com? No! Consistency when it comes to the visual elements in your business is just as important.
If you aren't ready to take the jump and hire a graphic designer to take care of your branding, here are a few general tips to follow when making materials for your business:
KEEP EVERYTHING CONSISTENT. This includes fonts, paragraph styles, colors and any elements you use when designing your materials (lines, shapes, etc.).
DON'T ALTER THE LOGO. Once you have an established logo, don't change the colors, shapes or fonts within it.
KEEP THE TONE SIMILAR. If you use color photos, always use color photos. If you use black and white photos, use only black and white photos. If the general aesthetic is dark, keep everything dark. If it's light, keep it light.
DON'T DISTORT PHOTOS. If a photo doesn't fit where you want it, crop the photo or shrink it. Do not just drag the sides - this will make the pictures wider or narrower than they should be and does NOT look professional.
MAKE YOURSELF A STYLE GUIDE. Keep a reference guide for yourself that has your colors, fonts, design elements, etc. in an easy to access place. This way, you can check to ensure you are using the same design across the board when creating new materials.
To sum it up - even if you offer the very best service in a particular industry, if you don't look presentable to potential clients or customers, there is a chance you could miss out on many opportunities. Branding and visual consistency in your business is very important!
If you are ready for help creating branding for your business, or updating your current branding, please reach out to me today!