Alright, guys, I’m hopping up onto my soapbox for this one. It comes up in conversation occasionally why someone would use a design agency instead of Vistaprint or Fiverr or 99Designs — they’re so cheap!
As much as I grumble I also admit that they have a place in the market. The thing with cheap DIY alternatives, or online bidding contests is they’re like McDonald’s: fast, cheap, convenient, and not very good for you.
I’ve been a poor start-up, and it can be scary spending a bunch of money on branding when there are lots of upfront costs. Sometimes you just need an icon on a business card. However, as soon as you can invest your money into branding, do it! If you’re able to invest at the start-up phase, even better!
I Hear You Saying “But Why?!”
Your brand is the emotional connection between your customers and your business. Emotion is what creates loyalty and keeps people coming back. A brand transforms your business relationships from transactional to relational.
People pick brands because good brands become an extension of their identity. Mountain Dew and Doritos are synonymous with the gaming community. Toms and 10Tree align with people who want to give back with every purchase they make. You know someone who proudly only buys Ford vehicles or buys Nike runners.
If your business doesn’t have an identity, customers don’t have anything that they can show off as part of who they are. You’re missing out on some great free advertising and customer loyalty.
Branding Matters
Some people don’t appear brand driven and might genuinely think they are not brand driven… but they probably are. Even as a graphic designer I don’t think I’m brand motivated at all. But, if you ask me if I like Canon cameras better than Nikon… I sure do. I love my Hyundai and recommend it to anyone buying a car. I eat Cheerios almost every day and have never bought a store-brand version. I think Lactancia butter tastes weird so I don’t buy it. I also love reading through the BarkBox social media because it’s hilarious!
After all of that, I still don’t think I’m a brand person. But if you read between the lines there is some serious brand loyalty (or in the case of Lactancia, disloyalty?). Because I own a Canon camera I buy exclusively Canon accessories and was confident in buying a Canon printer. They get a lot of my money that Nikon and other photography brands don’t get. I recommend Hyundai to anyone looking for a vehicle. That is marketing gold that all businesses are looking for.
How else can branding affect your bottom dollar? Did you know that 50% of businesses are confused for their competitors? That’s a staggering figure and it’s one where everyone loses out.
If you’re not standing out from your competitors every single time you are losing money to them. This also means that 50% of businesses have a “meh” experience. While Paper Lime Creative spends most of its time on the visual side of branding, branding is every interaction with your customer. And if your customers shop from you and then forget who you are enough to not realize they’re picking someone else the next time… that’s not a great experience.
While we can only make recommendations to our clients for the customer service side of things, if every visual interaction they have is memorable, authentic, professional and on-brand then you have a much better chance of customers remembering you.
While graphic design and branding may seem like a big expense up front, it’s a great way to streamline your customers’ experience and create a cohesive and functional look that sets you apart from your competitors.
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