Why you must preserve the very essence of why you started business above all else.

When I first started out with my own graphic design business almost 25 years ago I had little knowledge about marketing and considered branding to be all about the logo or ‘corporate ID’ as it was referred to back in those days.

But one thing I did recognise very early on is that if you actually create a ‘brand’ with core values, a mission statement if you like and a willingness to enforce this throughout all aspects of your business then this was going to be key to a business being successful. So once I identified that something as logically important (such as marketing) yet I personally have no interest in it, then the best path was to get someone else on your team who is passionate about it.

One of the first people I employed was so passionate about all things associated with building a brand, so much so that we would often find ourselves over staying our lunch break to the local supermarket and talking extensively about colours and fonts of packaging and why Asda will never have the kudos of Waitrose. We all shared the same values and I had become passionate about marketing and branding and without even realising it I noticed the other aspects of the brand outside of just the visual.

Everything is about the ‘brand’. It’s no good just having a great logo or catchy strapline, its much more than that. You have to have story.

Think of it this way. The music industry is full of manufactured bands, these are created by the music industry bosses who have a need to fill a certain niche at a certain time.

If you put aside the current success of One Direction for the moment, then these manufactured bands are doomed to fail as they have no integrity, no soul, or in effect no story. Sooner or later One Direction, like all manufactured bands will be out of fashion, Take That and even the Spice Girls made it big and were extremely successful for a time, but they only have a certain shelf life. Generally bands, which have conquered the world have done it through their own integrity which is genuine. Not only are they able to play instruments and write their own music, but they are a group of people who got together and played together in ‘real life’, long before the record companies got involved. They have a genuine story to tell and this makes for their longevity. Look at the Rolling Stones, U2, and Coldplay, these are real genuine bands which have a ‘brand’ and it’s story is brought into by their fans.

All small businesses have a story. How did you start, what made you think about selling this product or service?, Why are you doing this, is it just to make money or do you genuinely have a passion for what you do? You need to tap into your uniqueness in order to stand out from the crowd.
All the successful brands are those who get people to love you and your story and therefore to buy your product. It’s the ‘brand’ which is the key personality that identifies your service or product over your competitors.

So many times branding is falsely manufactured, and then used as a tool to try to sell the personality of a company, but if this is solely created by a ‘marketing’ person on your behalf, then where is the integrity, where the honesty of the company. I agree that most companies need professional help when highlighting their uniqueness and creating a visual brand identity, without this then everyone would end up having their logo designed using clip art from MS Word.

But if the brands ‘ethos’ or mission statement is not carried through across every aspect often business then its starts to fall apart, customers see that it’s just a false promise or it’s regarded as ‘marketing speak’.

Yes you can get your logo designed so its has a certain trustworthiness about it, but you have to build real trust in your company by being honest and sticking to the values you hold dear. Consistency is vitally important here. It’s no good having a great looking website and poor quality printed material which doesn’t follow suit. Similarly its no good adverting that you offer a superb delivery service, only to blame the courier each time your orders are not delivered on time.

If you are just starting out with a new business venture, then before you begin to think about any kind off marketing, advertising or even think of a company name – write down the core values of the company and what makes you different to others. Get your ‘story’ on paper and this will help become the brand.

It will cost you more in the long run if you don’t know what your brand is then how can you can’t share with the world.

Dean Williams

Dean Williams is a design and marketing blogger working for Print-Print Limited, promoting business and building brands through quality print marketing. If you’re interested in small business promotion then please get in touch hello@print-print.co.uk