Is Your Business Identity Hurting
Your Marketing Strategy?

Your marketing strategy must consider initial impressions, and what they say about you. You may not get a second chance to change a perception about your business.

If you want to convey to your target market that you are unique, trustworthy, experienced or creative, then say that with the signals that clients get from you. Tell them who you really are before you ever exchange words.

How do you do that? With your business identity.

Your sign, displays, brochure, business cards, stationery, Web site, storefront, etc. should say more about you than just the name of your business. What you really want to say is, “I'm knowledgeable or professional or creative or fast or affordable” — whatever it is that you want potential customers to think about you.

But if the message you're sending says, “cheap, disorganized or shoddy,” your business identity can raise doubts in the consumer's mind about your capabilities, your attention to detail, your expertise, your product or service — the whole ball of wax.

Maybe nothing could be further from the truth. Maybe you're the most knowledgeable, conscientious, honest, skilled and duly licensed whatever. You may have meticulously hammered out your marketing strategy by researching demographics, location, publicity and all other components of a sound business plan. But you shortchanged the identity strategy that will convey your positive qualities and expertise to your target market.

What Does Your Identity Signal to the Consumer?

A good marketing strategy is to put yourself in the shoes of the consumer. (After all, you're one too.) Pay attention today as you walk or drive around town, or surf the Web, and you'll see that you're flooded with thousands of messages every day. And they're not just the obvious ones that scream “24-HOUR SALE!” or “Buy one, get one free!”

Some messages are more subliminal. Your mind fills in the blanks when it processes the visual information, and you're left with an impression, such as:

When you attend a meeting and there is an exchange of business cards, pay attention to your impressions of those cards. Maybe you'll get one that's printed on its vertical side, one that's four-color or one with an unusual font. What does each say to you? This is classy, or this is dumb? This type is clean or it's so fancy, I can't even read it?

Don't try so hard to be different that you cross the line of readability, taste or unnecessary expense.

Does a Logo Really Make a Difference?

Your organization's logo should have a design element that will build name recognition. That doesn't necessarily mean a graphic. Fonts and other elements such as lines are sometimes all you need to create a unique and memorable logo design.

If you've ever looked for a gas station and spotted a bright yellow seashell, you know what brand identification is. And would you be able to pick out which logo belongs to Nike® or the Olympics? And how about the simplicity of the slanted “L” for Lexus® or the scroll typeface in Coca Cola®?

Of course, your marketing strategy doesn't include a massive advertising budget like the big boys have, so you can't as easily burn your corporate image into consumers' minds. Yet, you can — and should — build name recognition through consistency and frequency.

If your business lends itself to a graphic or symbol, have a professional create a logo design. Do it yourself only if you have some design experience. Your design element could be simply the typeface or positioning — again, a reflection of creativity and professionalism.

Stick With It to Make It Stick

Continuity is important in any image-building component of a marketing strategy. Once you have your logo design, typeface or color, don't deviate or you'll diffuse the impact of your identity. Changing a logo confuses the marketplace.

Large corporations sometimes update their logos, but they do so only after much research and hype in the marketplace. UPS®, for instance, revamped its logo design and other visual components in 2003 after 40 years. That change followed more than a year of research and planning, and was accompanied by worldwide publicity.

Your identity strategy, while not on a large scale, should be consistent nonetheless. Use it in all printed marketing materials, in ads, on your sign, on the jerseys of the softball team you're sponsoring, on your promotional materials, etc.

Protect that identity even when you turn it over to an external vendor, such as your newspaper ad salesperson. If the ad will be in color, give the vendor your camera-ready logo on paper or the PMS color number. This will help ensure that they do not try to match your colors — and miss. Remember, your logo is your business' signature. It must stay constant to be effective.

What Typefaces and Paper Stock Say About You

Typefaces (fonts) should “match” your business. If you're selling antiques, you don't want modern type. If you sell party supplies, you get to use fun, playful fonts. For Web site copy, you need to select common fonts that will be recognized by most computers. (This does not apply to your logo, whose font can be designed as a graphic.)

Select your paper stock that is consistent with the objectives in your marketing strategy. For example, letterhead and matching envelopes need not be expensive, but if your organization communicates primarily by letter, invest in a quality stock that says “professional.”

Brochures should be printed on heavier stock so that you can't see through to the other side. If you're creating your own marketing materials on a computer, buy a printer that will be able to handle heavier stock or use the capabilities of a copy and duplicating service.

Good Impressions Don't Have to Break the Bank

Professional doesn't have to translate to expensive. Your marketing strategy should focus on an identity that says neat, clean, organized, consumer-friendly, informative, value-for-the-dollar, etc. These are all better than glossy, four-color marketing pieces of disorganized babble.

In fact, sometimes an expensive look will work to your detriment (especially for nonprofits). It can lead to the perception that your product or service is overpriced because you have to pay for that slick look, or that you're wasting donor dollars.

Consider a look that reflects your business. Jewelry stores need slick, shiny or glossy to convey elegance. Plumbers need to convey expertise and trust — their identity needs are more basic.

And let's not forget that an effective Web site doesn't have to cost thousands of dollars. Web sites need to be informative, easy to navigate and written to draw traffic. Forget about the flash and glitz; that's just not for serious Internet businesses.

All these things we're talking about are outward signals that make an impression. Most times it's easy — and inexpensive — to make the right one.

Don't Blow It with Basic Blunders

So you're proud of that business identity component in your marketing strategy: you've got an informative, easy-to-navigate Web site; your marketing materials are professional; and your storefront is inviting. What more can anyone ask for?

Well, one more thing — the basics. You can lose credibility in an instant because of typos, incorrect punctuation and poor grammar. Spell check and grammar check on computers are helpful, but (their? they're? there?) unable to catch an incorrectly used word. (Yes, that was a test — answer at the end of this article.)

When your potential customers spot those “transgressions,” they can lose a measure of confidence. One, maybe two, might be forgivable, but any more than that will make many people cringe. Can it really be such a serious issue? For some folks, absolutely. Why take a chance, when language mistakes can be so simple to avoid?

If you're unsure — no, even if you're sure — of your grammar and spelling proficiency, have someone else, preferably a professional, look over all your printed words. Better yet, have two “someones” review all your marketing materials.

Add It All Up

All these elements of identity should be part of your marketing strategy because they add up to an image of a credible businessperson. They contribute to the perception of professionalism, and consumers want that when they're parting with their hard-earned dollars. Besides, there's enough competition out there that you don't want to give anyone an excuse to do business elsewhere.

Make it easy for your clients to feel good about doing business with you. Build your reputation by offering a quality product or service at a fair price, and build your name recognition with a long-term and professional business identity strategy.

 

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