Let’s face it brands are everywhere. From the second we wake up to the moment we turn off the lights at night, we’re bombarded with logo’s and messages on packaging, signs, moving and still objects, people and animals. Most of what we see evaporates into our subconsciousness, but some of it sticks.

Generally the images and message that we tend to remember are those that resonate with us, perhaps because they are different or eye catching, heart wrenching or funny, desirable or repulsive. When this happens, they suddenly jump into our conscious thinking – very often precipitating action, whether to buy something, make an enquiry, start a conversation or even donate some money.

There is no denying that the exponential growth of accessible technology is starting to have a dramatic effect on the way in which businesses are behaving to their customers. We are in the middle of a revolution as we shift from analogue to digital, from one way to 2 way communication – and from messages like “look how good we are!” to “tell us what we can do to make things better?” The emphasis is very much on customer power and choice, particularly given that all businesses now operate in a global marketplace.

30 years ago however, things were very different. A businesses market was almost certainly local (within 50 Miles), their competition was very limited – as was a customers choice and information traveled at a snails pace. In fact unless you were really awful it was fairly easy for brands to provide a bad service and get away with it. After all what could a customer do, complain to their friends or possibly give the story to the local paper. In addition the number of channels that a business could use to talk to its customers was very limited. There was a handful of TV channels, magazines and newspapers, radio and billboards. Reaching customers on a big scale was expensive and could only be afforded by the big brands.

Today the world in which we live is radically different. Technology has changed a brands relationship with a customer – forever.  A business is no longer local – but global, their customers are smarter and more cynical and if a businesses service is poor – millions of people may get to hear about it in seconds.

So how can you get a message to hold someone’s attention long enough to act? particularly now that customers have access to such a vast array of communication channels. And when you’ve got their attention, how do you manage and influence their behavior so they can start to develop a long-term relationship with your brand?
To answer this you firstly need to understand as much about your customer as possible, particularly ‘what do they really want or need’ and ‘why should they get it from you?’ The second is to assess and audit what your competitors are offering and what is the perception they are setting to potential customers. Once you understand these factors, you will begin to get a feel for the positioning of your own brand in the marketplace.

Setting the right perception of your brand with a potential customer is vitally important to get a customers attention. The difficulty that all brands face is that the best sales people cannot be everywhere at once, not unless human cloning really takes off.  Until then, every business will need to rely on a number of communication channels to inform, persuade, educate and start a conversation with a potential customer. This is where setting the right perception of your brand is critical to a businesses really making an impact with a customer.

So where do you start and can you compete?

Perhaps the initial questions you need to ask yourself are; how does your brand compare with competitors? What perception do you honestly feel they set in comparison to your own business? And does that perception truly reflect your future or current position in the market?

The starting point for assessing how best to tackle some of these issues is to get a free consultation with someone like ourselves at Fat Frog.

The investment that you make in your brand does not have to cost a fortune. It can be relatively small in the beginning, enough to get your business off the ground. This could be just a logo and a simple website. The important thing is to make the right impression from the start, this is particularly the case online as many of your customers will start there before even speaking to you in person.  Today we all rate online presence as the most important 24hr communication channel into a business. Set the right perception here, and potential customers tend to make the next step and approach your business. Get it wrong with a website that does not take the customer where they want to go or it looks tired, dated and says the same thing as all your competitors, and they are more than likely to move on to someone else, without you even knowing.

Designing a brand that is differentiated from your competitors and correctly positioned is an investment that will reap long term dividends for your business. Well designed brands have a 2 way benefit of not only engaging with customers, but also motivating staff so that they feel a sense of pride in the business they work for.

Over the last 15 years we have carried out a number of projects that help illustrate the benefits of investing in good design. Perhaps the best case study that sums up how design can make a dramatic difference to a business, is a project we carried out for 21 Degrees, a small air conditioning company based in Sunderland. In 2007 we were approached to help reposition their brand and improve their visibility in the marketplace. The project proved to be a remarkable success with the client seeing a considerable increase in sales leads as a result of using good design across a number of communication tools.

If you would like to discuss how design can make a dramatic difference to your business call Stephen Blanks on 0191 228 4901