Brand 101: The Right Direction

See our first post in the Brand 101 blog series here: What's in a name?

If you’ve started a business, a solo freelance venture, e-commerce store or app, you’re likely have considered, if not already started thinking about your branding.

Today, it’s not enough to have a product or service and expect to reach the same engagement from our customers as our competitors. There are so many reasons why brands fail to make it; in fact we’ve all seen so many small businesses doing everything right; Logo - tick, Photography - tick, Website-tick, Social media-tick. Great products/services and pricing - tick. All there, but missing a simple yet crucial consideration; Brand Direction.

What is Brand Direction?

Brand direction encompasses the story; personality, tone of voice, and creative aesthetic that your brand will be consistently associated with.

Why is it so important?

Your Brand Direction is important because it is the story you tell around your ‘physical’ products / services. Stories that resonate with your customers ideal selves, and inspire. When your customers are inspired by your story, they’re more likely to want to associate with your brand, products and services. When your customers are inspired, they themselves become your marketing team by sharing and advocating your brand.

How do I start?

Ask yourself these questions:

Who is my ideal customer and why? An ideal customer is someone who resonates extremely well with your product and business values.
Do your research and think about the person you’re creating for. What are their ideals and values? What do they care about just outside of the services you are offering?

How would they see your brand as part of their ideal lifestyle?
Eg. If you sell skin care, how will your product fit in with their ideal bathroom vanity? How will it fit in with their ideal skin care regimen? How will it make them ideally feel and look?

Your brand direction’s aesthetic, tone of voice and experience (in this case, packaging, website’s e-commerce experience) should help your ideal customer see your product as part of their ideal life.

Consistency is key

Finally, the key to doing your brand direction justice, to telling an inspiring story, the key to creating brand direction is consistency.

Consistency builds trust, while inconsistency breeds confusion. Having an established direction means you’re always hitting the mark with your ideal customer, meaning you’re more likely to attract those who are in tune to your products and services. It also means your customer’s get a seamless ‘personality’ coming through all your channels.

It can be tempting to post pictures quickly, to stay relevant on social media - but content that’s not thoughtfully curated, are at the cost of losing brand integrity - and your customers’ trust.

We think so, for two reasons:

1. Standing out: You’re focussing on what you do really well, and building a compelling brand narrative around it, which is more likely to differentiate you from your competitors.
2. Abundance: With most of the world having access to your brand, you’re more likely than ever to find your tribe - the people who are your ideal customers.

That's a wrap.

When tackling your brand, first and foremost - before you even start considering logos, take the time to consider these questions and I promise, it will make a world of difference in the long run, to the success of your business.