Branding can be an overlooked marketing tool.
But what if you had a branding strategy that built customer culture and developed deep relationships?
Within seconds, you can invoke feelings by effectively using color psychology. Within one session on your website, you can build your authority to a total stranger. In just a few posts on social media, you can create a village of raving fans who share your values (and recommend your business to their tribe).
Yet I still see so many entrepreneurs who sleep on their branding. Instead of using color psychology to evoke feeling through their brand, they choose colors based on what they like.
They see the saved dollar signs from investing time or money into their professional brand strategy.
But hidden below the surface is the lost time AND money by DIY-ing a brand or hiring a designer based on cost vs. results.
Why Branding is Important
Branding builds the engagement, loyalty and connection you’re looking for. With this connection, you build your authority and inspire clients to take action!
Did you know Apple doesn’t list any features in its advertisements? That’s because instead of sharing product features (like the specs of their laptops), they lean into the 3 Vs of Branding.
When you overlook investing in branding, you potentially lose.
Lost customer lifetime value (CLV) over time
- Brand represented poorly = lost brand authority
- Poor design = lost leads, conversions, transactions, email opt-ins
Lost marketing value & marketing spend
- Lost social shares
- Lost adspend (low conversion rate)
Lost energy
- Negative energy dealing with someone who delivers poor results
- Lost momentum overall – you should be sitting in your role as CEO/visionary
Lost time
- Time it takes to rebuild everything
- Time it will take to find a new designer
- Time going back and forth with someone who doesn’t share your vision
A strong branding foundation builds the foundation for your community to build know, like and trust with you.
- Instead of lost CLV, you build lifetime customers.
- Instead of lost marketing spend, you get timeless social shares.
- Instead of negative energy, you sit in your role as the visionary of your business.
- Instead of lost time, you move forward in business with momentum.
Branding, when done correctly:
- Boosts your credibility
- Builds your authority
- Attracts your dream clients
- Increases your pricing power
Instead of throwing a wide net and converting 1% into customers, you can build stronger relationships and convert more sales with people who believe in your message.
In this guide, we go through how you can use the 3 Vs of Branding (values, voice and visuals) to build a cohesive branding foundation.
Values
Your brand values are the core of the experience you create – they’re what matters to you and your ideal clients.
When people follow or buy from you, they also stand for what you believe in.
Take Apple – they value simplicity, and it’s visible in their product. The simple Apple unboxing experience is a memorable one.
Questions to Ask
- What’s important to you?
- What’s important to your potential clients?
- Where do those values overlap?
- How do you want people to feel when they interact with you?
- How can you integrate this in your messaging & sales?
Examples of Brand Values in Action
- You want people to feel supported, so you create a high-touch service where you get to know them every step of the journey.
- It’s important for your community to understand the technology of what you offer, so you create detailed, technical guides that you post publicly and/or provide to clients.
- Sustainability and locally sourced materials is something you and your clients value, so you create a program
Voice
Brand voice is the language you use to communicate in order to evoke feeling.
Apple uses phrases like “the most advanced yet” to evoke feelings that you are investing in innovation and the future.
The language you use creates an experience for your customers.
Questions to Ask
- How do you want people to feel when they land on your content?
- What words have your former clients used to describe you?
- What words and phrases does your community resonate with?
- What words can you use to describe your products, services and launches?
- How can you use language to distinguish yourself from competitors?
Examples of Brand Voice in Action
- You want customers to feel you’re relatable, so you use words they use and phrases like “If you’re anything like me…”
- You offer an innovative solution, so you use language that highlights your distinguishing and innovative services
- Your former clients express gratitude for your modern-day marketing brain, so you highlight that in your sales copy
Visuals
The colors, photography, and typography you use in your branding creates an experience that evokes feelings.
Do you remember the iPod campaign with colorful backgrounds and dancing silhouettes? Those visuals were designed to associate fun and vibrant feelings with the iPod.
Questions to Ask
- How does color psychology influence the way people perceive your brand?
- What feelings do the visuals you post evoke?
Examples of Brand Visuals
- Mood Board
- Typography
- Color Palette
- Logo
- Social Media Assets
- Print Material
- How you dress & appear on social media
Take Action
You’ve taken loads of notes and you feel reignited to develop your brand. You started this business yes – to support your lifestyle – but also because of a deep passion inside of you. You want to have deep relationships with your customers – not churn project after project.
That’s why I am putting together my Authentic Brand Roadmap, the first questionnaire I ask my clients to complete, available in the future for you to access online.
- “I had so many business breakthroughs from completing this questionnaire!”
- “It is super helpful! Your questions are very constructive, and they do a great job containing my myriad ideas into a cohesive picture.”
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