How Does Your Brand Stack Up?

In April, we talked about small yet powerful ways to boost your brand. If you missed that, you can find the article here.

This month, we wanted to encourage you to step back, get some perspective, and see how your brand stacks up against your competition.

One of our favorite yet simple strategies is to take your logo and put it on a wall next to all of your competitors. Now with all of this laid out in front of you, we have a few questions for you to consider:

Think about your audience’s decision-making process. Is it rational? Emotional? What about your logo and your brand that would make them pick you? Do your customers value trust, loyalty, luxury, and affordability? Does your brand look more expensive compared to others? Does it reflect the image you want? Can they make a connection between the image that you portray and what it is you do? What message does it convey? Consider doing the same with some of your brand materials, like brochures, business cards, or an advertisement.

Is your brand cohesive? Do all of your brand elements appear connected, focused, and intentional?  Brand consistency is necessary to build brand equity and recognition in the marketplace. A coherent brand expresses professionalism, builds trust, and will gain recognition. A fragmented identity will only dilute your brand, confuse patrons, and make you look unprofessional.

Think about whether or not your logo, brand, and brand assets accurately represent the quality of your organization. In most cases, your brand will be your first impression — are you satisfied with the persona you are putting on display?

We realize that’s a lot to consider, but this is serious business. For potential customers, your logo and brand image are the first things they might see. Your company could be known for great customer service and quality, but your logo could be seen as outdated, unprofessional, or confusing. It only takes milliseconds for someone to judge a company by how its logo appears, and you want to make the best possible first impression for your brand. It needs to be consistent across all mediums and be able to mesh with any future campaign your company launches.

Other analyses you can do to see how your company stacks up are comparing your website with your competitors. How seamless or difficult is the user interface compared to yours? Is it easy to figure out how to buy something from them or get in touch? Does your website convey the same tone that customers would expect from your organization? Is your website consistent and match your other brand assets? Back to the power of first impressions, it is integral for website visitors and potential clients to have a positive browsing experience to associate with your brand. (We went in depth about ways to elevate your online presence in last month's blog post, if you missed that, you can read it here.) 

Now let’s consider social media. In today’s tech-heavy world, social media presence is more important than ever, and customers need to be reminded of your brand while scrolling through their social sites. Brands must strive to remain relevant in the mind of the consumer.  Maybe your competitor is publishing relevant, useful content, and people know they can go to them for resources. What is it about their page that is attracting more likes or engagement? Acknowledge these strengths and weaknesses to put your organization one step ahead. These are only a few tools to help get you started in assessing your brand’s strength. Always keep in mind consistency and pair it with the evaluation of your company’s logo, website, and social presence. By applying these techniques, you’re sure to stack high above the competition.

Keep in mind that your brand might not need a complete overhaul to keep it looking fresh and up to date. We like to think of branding as an evolution, making strategic changes over time to build a brand that’s relevant, focused, and intentional. Whether you are in need of some subtle brand enhancement or large-scale rebranding initiative, we can help your brand stand out from the competition.