Finding the right branding style for your business is essential. It is the first thing people notice about your company, and often the last thing they forget.

As they say, there are no second chances at a first impression. So, let’s jump right into it. How do you find the right branding style for your business? 

Take stock of your competitors

First of all, it is helpful to look around you at what others are doing.

If you’re in an industry that has a very particular ‘look’ (for example, the established, corporate look-and-feel of the financial sector), it can be a smart move to go for something completely different.

Perhaps you see a lot of muted colour palettes around you, and you think a bold choice would give you a recognisable edge. This could differentiate your brand effectively. 

Or, it might work the other way. By adopting a similar style to successful competitors, your audience may view you as a brand that looks familiar to them, and brand loyalty could be easier to establish.

Your branding isn’t for you

This may sound wrong at first glance. Surely your brand needs to reflect you as much as possible?

Let me explain. Your branding needs to reflect your business. But not you, as an individual.

I think it helps to remember that your brand choices shouldn’t be purely based on your personal style and preference.

At the end of the day, your branding needs to capture your target audience. It needs to be all about them. 

Every branding decision you make needs to come back to the key question: will my target audience respond positively to this?

That’s why it can be helpful to distance yourself a little when choosing your branding style. 

Your absolute favourite colour combination might be neon pink and mustard yellow, but is that a choice that fully aligns with your business values and audience?

Shop around

If you’re struggling to decide on the brand style for you, it can be helpful to take inspiration from other sectors. 

What brands draw you in - and why?

Think about your first responses to certain websites, marketing campaigns, imagery and social media. And then think about what you want people’s first impressions of your brand to be. 

Should they feel at ease when they encounter your brand? Or excited by how different it is? Do you want to look conformist and professional? Or offbeat and quirky? 

Establish the type of brands that evoke similar feelings and then really analyse how they’re achieving that. Is it through their tone of voice, or maybe their colour palette?

If you're looking for some guidance or need help settling on the right branding style, give us a call on 0333 242 3990 to chat to a branding expert.

These quotes can inspire your team and boost ideas about where you want your marketing to go!

Just 15 great quotes about marketing…

1.“Many companies have forgotten they sell to actual people. Humans care about the entire experience, not just the marketing or sales or service. To really win in the modern age, you must solve for humans.” - Dharmesh Shah, CTO & Co-Founder, HubSpot

2. “Do you have a product or service that people want? If you don’t have that, nothing else matters.” - Noah Kagan, Founder of Sumo

3. “Master the topic, the message, and the delivery.” - Steve Jobs, Co-Founder, Apple

4. “Spending energy to understand the audience and carefully crafting a message that resonates with them means making a commitment of time and discipline to the process.” - Nancy Duarte

5. "Whatever the status quo is, changing it gives you the opportunity to be remarkable." - Seth Godin

6. “The only way to outdo, to outperform the competition is to offer something unique and something better than they have.” - Tim Soulo, Head of Marketing and Product Strategy at AHREFs

7. “The best marketing doesn't feel like marketing.” - Tom Fishburne, Founder & CEO, Marketoonist

8. “Good marketers see consumers as complete human beings with all the dimensions real people have.” - Jonah Sachs

9. “Where we always start is: What’s the user’s itch? What’s their pain point that occurs frequently enough to build a habit around?” - Nir Eyal, Author of Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products

10. “Marketing strategy will impact every piece of your business and it should be tied to every piece of your business.” - Brandon Andersen, Chief Strategist of Ceralytics

11. "Build something 100 people love, not something 1 million people kind of like." - Brian Chesky, Co-Founder & CEO, Airbnb

12. “Advertising brings in customers, but word-of-mouth brings in the best customers.” - Jonah Berger

13. “We not only need to understand the demographics of our customers, but we need to make sure that we create content for each of these different stages of the buyer’s journey.” - Kyle Gray

14. “Consistency is key. Whenever you start, give your audience something to look forward to.” - Julia McCoy, CEO at Express Writers

15. “Stopping advertising to save money is like stopping your watch to save time.” - Henry Ford

After some marketing advice or guidance? We can help. Call 0333 242 3990  to chat with an expert.

The importance of specialised marketing and brand strategies for architects

Traditionally, architecture wasn't a sector that embraced bold marketing or branding strategies.

It was a sector that relied on word-of-mouth referrals and an existing reputation in certain circles.

The reasons for this could be that architecture services aren't immediately easy for the general public to grasp.

Marketing an unclear concept can be a roadblock to both architects and marketers. A lack of understanding in both sectors may have limited how marketing and branding were historically handled.

This seems to be changing - which can only be good news for architects and architecture firms.

Architecture - such a visual sector - has much to gain from bold marketing and branding strategies.

‘Sometimes, the resulting confusion over what the end product offered by architecture studios actually is - a built object, a service, or a spatial experience - leads to ineffective branding and marketing strategies.’ - Anca Mitrache, 'Branding and Marketing, An Architect's Perspective.' 

A brand strategy will inform every aspect of a business. From briefing clients to the company's visual identity, to communicating throughout a project, a cohesive brand strategy will maintain consistency at every level.

For architecture studios who want to branch out their client base, up-and-coming architects or for studios wanting to revitalize their services, branding and marketing is essential.  

In the past, architects tended to market to other architects. That involved displaying their portfolio proudly, using technical jargon and attempting to appear as impressive as possible.

Where this sector may have been missing a trick is through clear and easy to understand branding.

Translate services into simple ideas

Simple branding could appeal to a wider prospective audience, and disrupt the market by translating specialist services into layman's terms. The market reach of this type of branding could be huge.

Can we help with your branding? Call 0333 242 3990 to chat to an expert.

There is power in simplicity. 

In the world of design, this is common knowledge. ‘Keep it simple’ is the mantra of many a graphic designer. Clean lines, minimalist shapes, stripped back visual identities - none of these concepts are new or groundbreaking.  

But recently the approach of ‘keeping it simple’ has moved well beyond the logo. 

Simplicity has become the key characteristic of disruptive brands. 

Branding experts Siegel+Gale are so fascinated by the concept of simplicity that they research brands every year for their World's Simplest brand report. This report surveys more than 15,000 people across 9 countries and ranks 800 brands. It’s a definitive understanding of the success of the simple brand.

‘Keeping it simple’ appears to be the one factor all big industry disruptors have in common.

Simplicity not just in design, but approach - at every level. The most successful brands were those that prioritised easy-to-use experiences or fulfilled certain functions that simply made life easier.

Siegel+Gale found...

• 64% of consumers are willing to pay more for simpler experiences
• 55% of consumers claim they’ll pay more for a brand that delivers a simpler experience
• A stock portfolio of the simplest global brands outperforms the major indexes by 330 percent.

The top 10 world’s simplest brands were found to be:

1. Netflix
2. ALDI
3. Google
4. Lidl
5. Carrefour
6. McDonald’s
7. trivago
8. Spotify
9. Uniqlo
10. Subway

“The top performers in our study operate in crowded, highly competitive marketplaces. That said, their ability to consistently deliver their brands with simple, compelling experiences sets them apart,” said David Srere, co-CEO and Chief Strategy Officer at Siegel+Gale.

“Companies will benefit greatly by keeping it simple for customers…or suffer the consequences.”

We can see the effectiveness of the simple approach in our day-to-day lives. The ‘one swipe’ purchase bar on my Amazon app can testify to that! The simplicity of Amazon’s buying process prioritises a lightning-quick customer experience - making it all too easy to contribute to Jeff Bezos’ sprawling empire.

We see a similar user experience with Netflix - ranked the no1 most simple and successful brand. Their original tagline ‘movie enjoyment made easy’ still stands true today.

Netflix’s automation recommendations are designed intuitively so the next big thing is quick and easy for us to find. How many of us had to scroll endlessly to find ‘Tiger King’? None of us. It was one day simply there. We didn't have to think twice about it.

Netflix - as do the other most successful brands - remain committed to smooth, easy user experiences, instant accessibility and global brand recognition.

It’s simplicity done perfectly.

As Manchester businesses, what can we learn from these disruptors?

Key takeaways:

Empathise with your customer. I mean, really empathise. Getting on exactly the right wave-length as your customer allows you to anticipate their pain-points and experience their user journey. What road bumps stand between them and a seamless experience?

Embrace tech. People love easy-to-use tech. Think McDonald's self-service screen. A few taps and you're done! Without having to scream your order at a spaced-out server.

Streamline your services. Netflix offers one thing, done well. Amazon offers many different services, but keeps things simple with intuitive e-commerce tech that doesn't overwhelm their customers.

We'd love to help you out with a rebrand. If you're after something timeless, simple and disruptive - let's discuss! 

You can give us a call on 0161 672 7822, or drop me an email at jess@22group.co.uk