ADVICE AND TIPS
Whether you know it or not, you have a brand. And it’s more than just a logo.
What is
your brand?
with Charlie Budd
The word ‘brand’ comes from the Norwegian word ‘brandr’ – to burn. It was
What can you do about your brand?
used for the practice of branding livestock, literally burning them to identify
Firstly, you need to decide what you want people to think and say about
who owned what. Then it became used to signify identity in the world of
you, the image you want to project, and then ask yourself whether you
marketing – from a potter’s mark on a pot, the uniform used in the military,
currently project that image at every potential customer touchpoint,
the format and design of a newspaper, even the kind of hat you wore.
including when you work for them, and the aftercare you may provide,
It’s more than just the physical appearance of something though, it’s
as well as your marketing.
also about how you interact with a person or organisation. It’s taking
It can seem daunting, given that everything you do in your business
ownership of everything that could communicate something, and it
projects your brand, from your vehicle, your phone manner, your social
applies to both your business and to you as a person.
media presence, your choice of radio station, whether you offer a greener decorating service...
More than just a logo A business’s logo is one of the least important parts of their brand. Yes,
Big changes or little tweaks?
it allows fast identification, but that’s just a visual reminder, a tag. What
You have a lot of choices on how to proceed, but they boil down to major
does your brand really mean?
shifts or incremental improvements.
Like him or loathe him, the founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, is credited
If you want to get a more discerning type of customer who will pay
with saying, “Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re
top dollar for a premium service, then you have to imagine what that
not in the room.”
looks like. Be objective about every part of what you do. Does it mean
Think about that for a while. What would your customers say about you
new whites? A spruce up of your van and your equipment? Some better
when you’re not on their property? What would they recommend about how
photos of projects on your social media and website? Smarter and more
you do business, and how skilful and conscientious you are as a decorator?
efficient quoting and invoicing systems?
And what might they say about you that isn’t so complimentary? And what does everything else about your business say about you? Your website, your van, your clothing. Tidy? Clear? Quality? Or not…?
Perhaps you want a complete rebrand – logo, tagline, website, business direction. It can take time, but sometimes you need to think long term, and what needs to be done to reach your goals.
It’s not easy, sometimes, to face up to stuff in our businesses that we ‘could do better’, but unless we’re moving forwards and improving, we’re
Why does all this matter?
going backwards, because the world is always moving forwards.
You may not personally care about what people think about you. That’s fair enough, but if you’re in business your success will depend on what people think about you – both potential clients just looking at your website or asking for recommendations and existing (hopefully repeat) clients.
Everything you do Here’s an example of brand in action from when I was a decorator... I was doing exterior decorating of an old cottage, spraying pebble dash, doing a really crisp job on the windows and doors. I was careful, meticulous. A week into the job, a very blunt German woman came over to me and said, “I’ve been watching you, I like how you do things, and you’re going to be my new decorator.” And so I was, for years, and she’s still a friend.
marketing, it can be Your brand is not all about your logo and active everything you do. in lous meticu ibly something such as being incred
Everything you do is your brand – so what’s it saying about you and your business?
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