4 Branding Rules You Can’t Ignore
Branding has the power to elevate your product and connect to your ideal buyer, building reliability in their minds. Maybe a branding mistake feels like not a big deal when you spot one in your own business, but in the minds of buyers, these four rules are consistently true and can easily be implemented to establish and strengthen your brand.
Rule 1 | Reflect Your Customer
When starting a business, branding is often the first exciting thing to pop into our minds. Perhaps there is a company we feel has knocked their branding out of the park and we want a similar vibe. Or maybe we are creatives and we already have something original in mind. Regardless, the temptation is to design what we like. And while your personal brand feeds into your business brand (and does define it in some aspects), ultimately your branding is a reflection of your customer. It has to speak the emotional language of the buyer.
For example, if you create a makeup line for mature skin but you are twenty-five years old and the branding is poppy and youthful to reflect you, that may or may not appeal to a more refined age group. While it may sell, if you were to study your customer and rebrand to reflect them as a buyer, your sales would probably increase (along with perceived product value). Ultimately, marketing is solving the customer’s problem, not yours. Everything about the product has to indicate that it is for them, not just about showcasing your personal style.
Does that mean you have to completely drop your personal branding as an influence on your brand? Of course not. You set apart your company and make it unique. The question is, is your ideal customer drawn to this branding style based on who they are? If you are set on a certain branding that doesn’t match your customer, either you have the wrong customer in mind or you are too focused on design over your customer’s connection. Both will hurt your profits.
I heard about a new local luxury restaurant that has amazing food, but the name and the style inside feels inconsistent to first time customers. Though the chef is exceptional, the name of the restaurant has a fast-food vibe. The décor inside appears thrown together. There was hardly any advertising in advance to increase trustworthiness. This is an example of poor understanding of (or interest in) the customer. While the owner may not prioritize interior design or feel the name needs to match the luxury vibe, the customers disagreed by walking away feeling they overpaid even though the food was amazing. A restaurant that appeals to their customer and not simply their personal wishes will beat out disconnected branding every day.
Rule 2 | Be Consistent
Humans typically like to use set symbols to identify objects. It drives us crazy when there is an emoji face that is up for debate. Is the winking emoji to flirt or to be passive aggressive? We want clear symbols and zero confusion.
That is why having multiple forms of branding can hurt you in the end. While there are some free thinkers for this rule, an obvious example is that the golden arches only mean one thing on the side of the interstate; there is never a debate inside the mini van if tires or burgers are sold under those arches. Consistency creates reliability and trustworthiness.
Here are three areas that need to stay consistent in a brand:
Tone- Is your company or product fun and playful, or refined and elegant? Mixing the tone in your branding feels confusing for the buyer. We all have an innate need for consistency of tone to feel sure about a person or thing. For example, if you want to be perceived as an approachable brand, your tone towards your customer should always feel down-to-earth, friendly, and relatable.
Colors/Fonts- Stick with 2-3 colors and 1-2 fonts. If Disney changed their weird letter D in their wordmark logo, we would all go into hysteria. It is a defining feature. Their colors are white, black, and blue. Do you ever see a neon green Disney logo? Probably not. Consistency creates comfort and dependability. Every now and then they do something funky for creative development of a storyline, but first they typically showcase normal branding to reestablish the relationship with the customer.
Logo- Speaking of Disney and movies, the castle always appears in front of a blue landscape. We can rely on that always happening before a movie starts, even if there is some slight fun addition. Disney Plus has a ray of blue light incorporating their colors and a plus sign. Every time. Getting too fancy with changing logos confuses the customer. In our digital world today, customers should be wary of a logo that looks slightly off or outside of branding. It typically indicates a dupe. You don’t want your customers to spend their mental energy trying to determine if it really is your product because you modified the color of the logo.
Rule 3 | Words Matter More Than Logos
I love logos and colors and things that visually define a brand. But if I objectively assess what pushes me to action on a website or social media post, it is what the words are saying and how I am connecting through the text. A company may have a fantastic logo, but if the words are self-focused or off-putting, the message will fall flat.
When it comes to words, the business wants to invite the buyer into a solution of a problem with them. Ultimately, the copywriting isn’t about the business- it is about how the product will solve a problem or make the buyer’s life better. Sure, design is great, but design with a disconnected message leaves the customer confused at best. Being direct, having strong hooks, and leading the buyer through problem solving with your layout are like arrows that lead to sales.
Early on when trying to brand the nonprofit I started, I often used soft calls to action or vague language to define what services were offered. I initially had a hard time defining our vision and also felt bad asking for an action. I personally hate pressure, so I projected that into vagueness on our digital platforms. A donor one day brought this problem to my attention. I did not realize that in trying to make the website feel a certain way through only design, I had missed the mark on clarity of words. Our visitors were given weak direction.
I recently read a post about how it is inspirational that a business has an artsy video, but the real question viewers want answered is what does that business actually do? Within the same day, I ran across this very problem on a separate social media post. Really cool artistic expression, but what does this company do? I asked myself. This is what my donor had been feeling.
We don’t want customers going on a wild goose chase trying to figure that out. We want to connect through clarity immediately. Websites should make it clear what they sell and how to buy it. Those are the most important things on your site, way more important than sharing your story or cool photographs. Buyers ultimately come to digital platforms to solve their problem and they don’t want to have to search too long to find answers. Since this is the case, a rule would be to have a clear description of your product or service and a button leading to the your solution as the first thing they see when landing on your website.
Rule 4 | Avoid Making Your Social Media Your Scrapbook
Social Media is such a great free marketing tool. But it can feel a bit exhausting thinking about having to post frequently since things can get buried fast. Social platforms move at lightening speed. So, we sometimes fall into the trap of documenting the minutia of our lives to take up space on platforms because we think people need constant reminders.
While we want to prioritize words for branding, saying too much can also be an issue. Our customer does not need intimate details of our lives on social media. There’s been a push for authenticity, but we forget that mystery is a strength, also. Balancing both can build excitement in your brand. It’s like first dates: you want to know your date’s name and have meaningful conversations, but you don’t want to watch your date floss after the meal. Create space for mystery, which builds curiosity and sends customers back to learn more.
Next time you’re about to hit post about your baby’s diaper blow out, unless you sell diaper cream, go back to the purpose of your social media platform. All posts and stories should point back to your customer. You may feel you’re being relatable (and some people get away with this more than others), but too much honesty can feel like your customer is supposed to be your emotional support friend. That will get old quickly when they are looking for solutions for themselves.
Ask yourself, does this content build the brand or is it simply something I personally like? Only creating content that is beneficial to the brand and pointing to your service or product will be effective for establishing a consistent brand and increasing sales.
Remember, Branding Is a Reflection of Your Customer- Not You
It is tempting to fall into the trap of branding with our own preferences and passions in mind. But ultimately, the customer comes to purchase something for themselves (unless it is your supportive Aunt Tina giving you a mercy sale). Why avoid the reality of how business works? Business is a transaction between two parties and we have to make sure there is true benefit going both ways. Marketing to yourself is the same as asking your customers to do you favors and spend their money.
Which rule surprised you? Try all four and watch them strengthen your brand and your connection to you customer!
-Shelley Ritter