A brand is a terrible thing to waste. In fact, strong brands are the foundation of many successful businesses, and it’s one of your most important assets as you establish and grow your customer base.

A brand involves blending the image, purpose, and focus of your business with your core marketing message. It is who you are and what you do, packaged neatly, clearly, and memorably. Many consumers will buy a product, even at a higher price, simply because of the brand.  For example, you might go to a Starbuck’s Coffee Shop instead of a local vendor because of Starbuck’s strong brand name.

Here are three steps to take as you create your brand…

Name and Slogan

Memorable brands have short, easy to remember and easy to spell names. Think of your favorite companies or products…most of them are probably one word and/or no more than three syllables. Brands like “Lowe’s,” “BMW,” and “Nordstrom” all follow this general rule of thumb.

Slogans are an important part of a company’s brand, but have less permanence than the company name.  A good working slogan is a statement that gives a quick snapshot of what you do, gives a key benefit of using you over your competitors, is credible and easy to understand, and is memorable.

Logo

Your logo is a visual image of what your company stands for. Think of McDonald’s golden arches or the Nike swoosh – these two logos embody these companies well. Try these tips from entrepreneur.com:

• Look at the logos of other businesses in your industry. Do your competitors use solid, conservative images, or flashy graphics and type? Think about how you want to differentiate your logo from those of your competition.
• Focus on your message. Decide what you want to communicate about your company. Does it have a distinct personality-serious or lighthearted? What makes it unique in relation to your competition? What’s the nature of your current target audience?
• Don’t use clip art. Not only will original art make a more impressive statement about your company, but it’ll set your business apart from others.

Stand Out!

Set yourself apart from the competition. Do something memorable that will really stick with the customers even after they’re gone. You could always use red bags for your merchandise, give away free tee-shirts that have your logo, or post signs or advertisements about your business.

Take the time to think these things through and you will be on your way to a cohesive brand identity!

Despite their size, a person’s business card is one of the most powerful marketing tools you can use simply because it is a reflection of your personal branding process and is typically the first thing people see regarding you and your business.  Additionally, having business cards goes beyond identifying what you do for a living simply because it is an identification tool.  You always distribute these to people whether they ask for them or not.  Simply stated, they validate what you are all about and are fundamental to the survival of anyone’s business.

It is critical that your business cards have all of the proper contact information printed on them – i.e. your name, the name of your business, an e-mail address, and a website URL (if you own one).  Additional information would include your motto or slogan which separates you from anyone else engaged in your particular endeavor, a phone number, city, state, and zip code.  By listing all of this information, you are giving the potential client or customer, all the contact information they need in order to follow up with you.

Here’s a critical issue that most people don’t realize.  If you don’t have a domain name with your e-mail address attached to that domain then you really aren’t branding yourself.  Domains and domain names are available for around $10 annually and these are critical for keeping your business cards brand-focused.

Additionally, business people today brand themselves and their product on their business cards by including their company logo.  Another aspect involves “social networking“, a technique that individuals use as part of the branding process.  For instance, if you are a member of Facebook, Linkedin, or Twitter, you would want to include this information as well, especially if you are using these sites for business networking.

7 Critical Aspects to Consider

• Black and White may be the standard but it isn’t very exciting and doesn’t draw enough attention. Conversely, you don’t want to go overboard with color either.  A splash of red on a black-on-white business card draws a person’s attention.

• Too many graphics defeat the purpose. Not only that, they distract a person’s vision away from the two key elements – brand focus and contact information

• Keep the font at a readable size. Remember that the older we get, the worse our vision gets.  If you want people to contact you, the size of the font is critical and should look more important than just being put on the business card as an afterthought.  Granted, your logo is an important aspect, but they can’t contact you if that is all they see.

• If you use a personal photo on your business card, keep it up-to-date. If your hair is greying or thinning (oh, say it isn’t so), then why would you want a 10-year old photo on your business card that no longer looks like you?

• Business cards that are not the standard size (2″ x 3½”) attract more attention. Just remember how critical being able to read your contact information is when you experiment with odd shapes and sizes.

• Use the back as well as the front of your business card. Why leave the back blank when you can put that blank area to good work by printing a message that enables people to remember you and what you are all about? Remember, you are investing in yourself and your brand!

• Avoid using websites that advertise free business card stock. You’re better off spending a few extra dollars and having custom business cards printed, rather than running the risk of being at a networking event and seeing other people with business cards that look just like yours.  Besides that, these websites typically have their name somewhere on that business card to promote themselves as well.  That’s why they are free.

There’s nothing quite as important as coming up with a consistent brand image to use across your marketing materials. It’s not only important because it is how your company is perceived; rather, it’s a required focus because it conveys a consistent message regarding what your company is about and who you’re targeting.

Print media is still one of the best ways to zero in on your target market and create an image that is wholly new and inventive. The following tips should help you come to new conclusions about your marketing efforts and how you can jazz up your brand to really make the sale.

Create an Eye-Catching Logo

If you want your brand to sell, you have to create a compelling logo that really catches the eye of your audience. It doesn’t have to be big, flashy or obtrusive. Rather, it just needs to stand out in some way and accurately portray your business. For instance, if your company is a coffee shop, you probably shouldn’t have something entirely unrelated like a flashlight as your logo. Unless, you’re going for something a bit off-the-wall, that is. Evaluate your business type, your target market and then craft your logo to appeal to that specific group of people.

Short, To-The-Point Catch Phrases

Don’t try to be overly clever or cute. Most of the time, that is a turn off for people. Instead, make sure your slogans or tag lines are succinct and to the point. They should stand out on your printed materials and consist of no more than five to seven words. I know that doesn’t seem like very much, and believe me, it isn’t. But with the attention spans of people shrinking more and more these days, you have to work harder to convey your messages in a shorter space. A sad commentary on our society? Perhaps. But true, nonetheless.

Think of it in Campaign Terms

While things like logos and company slogans shouldn’t change very often, you should look at your print media in campaign format. That is, think of the press releases, business cards, brochures, flyers, etc that you distribute for the next given period of time (six months usually works best) as a part of a complete package. There should be a theme to your marketing efforts; and overall voice and objective. Anything that doesn’t fit that objective shouldn’t be used. You’ll only confuse your customers and make them fail to connect with your overarching brand message. And that’s the last thing you want!

It’s About Identity

Really, all of this boils down to building an identity for your company. And while you might have captured it perfectly on your website, in your store, or what have you, it’s still important to devote some thought to how you will portray yourself in your printed marketing materials. Some people say that print media is falling by the wayside and while online marketing efforts are certainly very important, too, it would be a major mistake to fail to come up with an effective brand identity for print media. Your competitors are working hard to portray their brands in print, so you should too.

When you are creating a business image in print, for sales or corporate use, you must convey a unified single voice in everything you use.  This does not mean simply having the same logo or letterhead on every print piece, although that does help.  Having uniformity in printed copy means having the same voice, angle, style, and brand recognition in everything a customer sees.

Let’s start with the voice. Having a uniform voice in printed copy is essential, but sometimes not fully understood.  What is your “voice”?  This is how your business communicates with current and prospective clients.  Do you approach clients in a personal friendly tone or a professional business manner?  Do you convey an informative nature, or a humorous tone?  However you want to approach your customers, everything in printed copy must follow the same approach.

Next is the “angle”. This is how you approach your customer with a sales message or relative information.  Not to be confused with “voice”, the angle is the direction you take with your printed copy.  If you want to use a direct approach where you want to offer just information, this must be used in everything.  If you start with an educational or conversational tone, such as this article and site, you must stick to that angle with everything you have in print.  Know your angle before starting to craft your message.

This brings us to “style”. Style relates to how words are used in your printed copy.  Are you going to use technical or long informative copy?  Or will you stick to short quick bursts of easy to digest information about your product or service?  Again, if your business deals with technical professionals then you would want to use the technical and informative copy.  If you deal with John Q Public, you would stay with a style which is quickly and easily understood.  If you deal with professional persons with little time, your style should be quick and to the point.

The last item to remember, is brand recognition. Uniformity is especially important in regards to brand recognition.  The logo must be the same proportion to the words around it every time.  The same font and typeface must be used in everything.  If you start with a light tone color paper, try using it in all printed copy because this color will become synonymous with your brand.  Colors must also be kept constant in all printed material as well because the color in any logo or lettering will become part of the brand as well.

If you keep a uniform voice, angle, style and brand, your company will become more recognizable in less time through your communications with potential and current customers.  Keeping uniformity in everything printed will also show an organized, efficient, and knowledgeable company to the public.

Which would you rather be  – Chief Learning Officer or Educational Consultant?

Grand Pooh-Bah or Chief Executive Officer?

Chief Noodler or President of the Design Division?

Depending on the company, some employees have the opportunity to create their own job titles.  At Cranium, a board game company based in Seattle, execs encourages employees to create their own job titles — so long as the titles reflect what each employee actually does.  Why?  Because job titles are usually boring, and they don’t reflect what people actually spend their day doing.

When it is time to create a new business card, consider what your job title says about you.  After all, your business card is not just a quick way to give out your phone number or website address.  Your business card communicates your message, your brand, who you are and what you do.  It should make the reader want to know more about you, drive online traffic and create relationships with you.

To make your business card pop, describe who you are with energy, passion and creativity.

Personal Branding

Consider using your personal branding statement instead of a formal job title on your business card.  Creating a personal brand is all about focusing on who you are and what you specialize in – not what slot you fill.  This is the niche you specialize in.  You might be “The Brand Warrior” or the “Tax Law Queen.”

But don’t go over the top, either.  No more than five words.  For example, this does not work:  “I energize, focus and align manufacturing organizations, resulting in sustainable acceleration of processes, reduction in waste, and growth of profits.”  It is not the job of your business card to put people to sleep.

That being said, no, you cannot be the “Master of the Universe” or the “Queen of the World,” so don’t say you are.  But you might be “The Marketing Diva” or “Career Doctor.”

Internet marketing blogger Glenn Gabe decided his new title would encompass everything he does – Chief WebDeVideoSearchMarketBuzzAnalytics Officer.  It probably won’t fit on a business card, but you do get a sense of what he does.  On his business card?  “THE web guy.”

Drop the Deadwood

Certain phrases simply don’t work in job titles – they are overused and trite.

Let go of these oldies and not so goodies:

• Director
• Freelancer
• Entrepreneur
• Senior
• Executive

Step Out

Personal branding takes courage.  To proclaim yourself as an expert – even if it’s a tiny field – means putting yourself out there.  If you want to stay a mid-level manager in an organization hierarchy forever, then keep the title the HR department hands you.

Whether you are networking or job hunting, creating a new title generates interest and enthusiasm.  Obviously not every field is ready for “Princess Pay-A lot” in lieu of CFO, but whose business card would you keep at the end of the day?  Ideally, your business card will spark a conversation or interest in you after the event.

If you’re going to spend time, effort and money in advertising and marketing your business, then you’ve got to put some real fire behind it. You’ve got to promote your business with vigor and potency. Otherwise, you’re going to rip through your budget faster than Jack in London.

A go-to method for promoting your business with strength is through consistent marketing efforts. Of course, your marketing should always be consistent to ensure your efforts are targeted and focused, however, what me mean for the sake of this article is branding. With all of our new-age and innovative marketing, many companies have perhaps lost sight of what branding really is.

Here’s a reminder-think livestock! In case you have forgotten, back in the Wild West, and to this day, ranch hands would use burning-hot irons and sear their ranch symbol into the hide of the beast in case they strayed, so they could later pick them out from other herds and rightfully reclaim them.

That’s exactly what your marketing should do. Prospective clients should be able to look at all the other livestock out there and be able to pick out your business at first glance. Promote your business with potency by building strong brand awareness throughout all your pieces. This is where the consistency really comes in.

For example, you may think it makes no difference at all, but if you refer to your self as a firm in one advertisement, and then an agency in another, your prospect is going to get confused.

Again, what you think is a tiny, insignificant discrepancy can be enough to cast a shadow of doubt. Your prospect may think you don’t actually know what it is that your company does. And how many prospects buy from a company who they suspect doesn’t know what they’re doing? We probably don’t need to answer that for you, do we?

Years ago, businesses in the United States were able to thrive without much effort in terms of marketing – the vast majority of customers were obtained by word of mouth referrals. Even then, the most successful businesses used graphics as a way to reach more customers in potential markets. With the rising technological obsession in today’s society, graphics are even more effective, and also, have become a necessary component in the presentation of a professional business. However, it often seems that graphic presentation is disregarded as a marketing technique in itself. There are three particular factors that make graphics so essential to business:

Psychological Roots

The effectiveness of graphics in the marketing of businesses is seeded in its psychological nature. When you think of a company, most likely you associate a name with a logo or symbol. Because of how our mind operates, we automatically associate images with things of importance. As a result, graphics play a significant role in what customers think of your business. When well-designed graphics are an evident component of your business, customers are more likely to develop a positive opinion of your business. If customers think of your graphics as professional, they;ll associate your business in the same way. Additionally, the human mind also creates perceptions regarding color – which makes graphics even more powerful in terms of business marketing.

Competition

Delivering big against the tight competition in today’s economy requires that you market persistently. Graphics are a crucial part of this larger goal. Nearly every company in the world uses graphics, which means that staying competitive as a business requires the same.

Branding

Creating a name for your business is not enough. As stated earlier, almost all companies use graphics. Through graphics, any business can establish branding that separates them from the rest. In doing so, customers begin to acknowledge your status as a legitimate and professional entity. As a result, promotion of your business becomes a spontaneous and natural effect. Establish graphics that your customers can recognize; your customers will recognize you with their business in return.

Why do some businesses succeed where others fail? Most likely its not entirely due to graphics, but a lack of graphics can definitely be a factor that contributes to such unpleasing results. Failing to realize the need for graphics for business success may be costly, which makes an investment in this area an asset of considerable value. If you are prepared to add graphics to you business, contact a printing firm for more details. A picture is worth a thousand words; and for these purposes, maybe more.