You might love your shiny new brand when it’s first launched…but how does branding affect your business over time?
At InnerVisions ID we know helping you get brand clarity and standing out will supercharge your business growth, but don’t just take our word for it.
In our new blog series, #BrandMatters, we talk to business owners about the impact investing their brand has had on their business.
First up, Adam Houlahan, founder of Prominence Global…
In building your brand, the first of our six-step VISION Process is Visualise, where you start with your big brand aspirations, then the company and customer vision. The second step is what we call the ‘Inner Brand’. Your Inner Brand is the non-visual part, the heart and soul of your brand, or how you make that emotional connection.
Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon famously said, “Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.” But what about when *nobody* is in the room? Your brand is now more important than ever. It is out there, representing you when you can’t be in front of your clients. And brand values are a core part of that.
As an entrepreneur, you are probably lucky enough to be doing something you love! But how can you attract customers who will love your business, products or services (almost) as much as you do?
Understanding how to build your brand is vital to achieving this.
Our VISION Process (detailed in my best-selling and award-winning book, Let’s Get Visible!) helps you understand your brand and harness the power of branding to achieve your business aspirations and goals
Dec
In 2005, in Mason County Jail, Texas, Sheriff Clint Low decreed that everything in his all-male prison should be pink – walls, bars, sheets, towels, jumpsuits and slippers.
Amazingly, aggression levels plummeted and the fighting stopped. (I guess it’s hard to act the big man when you’re dressed like a baby girl!) Inmates also felt humiliated to be seen doing community service in their town. They didn’t want to have to wear the outfits again so reoffending rates dropped by 70%.
Like naming a baby, naming your company needs some proper consideration. Your company name will likely exist for the duration of its lifetime (mergers, acquisitions or complete rebrands aside).
Your company name is possibly one of the most important parts of your brand communications. It’s the first way you can make an impact and it’s an easy way to stand out and be remembered.
Choosing typefaces for your brand is a hugely important part of what we do when we work with our clients on their branding.
There are over 100,000 typefaces, and different typefaces will give a very different feel to your brand, so whilst we would always advise working with a professional on this, here’s a quick guide so you can start to understand the styles of typography which will best communicate your brand message.
Jun
If you are in business, you need to be building both your personal and company brand. We started out focusing on creating company brands, but personal brand is a growing part of what we do.
It is important to treat your personal brand and your business brand as two separate entities, (even if your business name is the same as your own, e.g. Stella McCartney the personal brand and Stella McCartney the fashion house brand), especially if you are planning to exit.
But they also need to support each other. Here are our top tips on building an aligned personal and company brand.
We did a bit of market research when we started thinking about evolving the InnerVisions ID over a year ago. Three years previously though, InnerVisions ID the name I came up with for my interior design company (the ID being for Interior Design).
Jan
Brochures are a core part of building your brand. But if I had a pound for every bad brochure I’ve seen… well, I would be lying on a beach, writing this with a cocktail at hand.
Here are a few tips to help you get started…