We are so excited to announce our collaboration with the lovely Allie, of Be Up & Doing! Allie is a busy bee in the creative world of design and freelancing, so we knew she would be just the one to help give tips and insight into making small handmade businesses grow, bustle and thrive.
Take it away, Allie!
What is your brand?
Hello lovely readers! My name is Allie and I’m usually blogging over at Be Up & Doing (blog.allisonlehman.com). Each month I’ll be teaming up with 20 Best Twenty to share some tips on improving YOUR small business brand.
As a graphic designer, I often meet people who automatically think that their brand is entirely wrapped up in their logo. While a logo is a great place to start…it doesn’t end there. I’m going to share a few things to think about in order to create a cohesive brand:
1. Think About Your Audience
Figure out who you’re customers are and who they will be. You need to identify who they are, what they do, and what they like. If you’re selling your product or marketing your blog to families and mothers, then that will affect your branding process. Ask questions like:
- How old are they?
- What do they like to do?
- What brands gain their loyalty?
- How often are they buying your product?
- What kind of music do they listen to?
2. Identify Your Competition
You need to know who you’re competing against! What are they offering? What’s the cost of their product? How do they address product packaging? What’s their shipping policy? Are they using social media? Make a list of how you want to be UNIQUE. You should be offering something new.
3. Establish Your Voice
You need to make sure that you identify who you are as a business. (Note: I’m not talking about your personal voice.) Your business needs to have a consistent voice when you’re tweeting, when you’re communicating with a customer, when you’re working with a designer, and even when you’re creating new products! Any easy way to do this is by giving your business a character and make that character someone that you audience can connect with.
I hope these tips can help you think of branding beyond just the initial logo! If you’re still stuck, try making a list of all the brands that you’ve really connected with and why that is.