Wednesday 2 March 2011

Business Wednesday - Branding

When you think of certain big brands I am sure we all automatically think of their products or logo at the mere mention of their name. So McDonalds, Big Macs and a big yellow M, Tesco, stripy blue & white bags and a red logo, GAP, navy blue drawstring bags with white logo and I could go on!  Whilst the word branding may bring thoughts of hot pokers and cows it is vital to get it right with your own business. 

Do you use the same logo on your website, Etsy shop, Facebook page, blog and business cards? It is vital to create a brand, a logo synominous to your business to appear professional when dealing with customers.  When you are setting up your Folksy or Etsy shop it is incredibly important to think about the iamge you are conveying to possible customers if you want to succceed.  We all know that good product photography is important but I also believe that representing your product professionally is sometimes of greater importance to gain repeat business and for customers to talk about your business. 

The photographs will probably clinch that sale but if you then send a buiness card with a different logo to your shop with your parcel and use a sticker without a logo the customer might not necessarily remember who you are.  Yet if you were to send that parcel, beautifully packaged, with a business card or compliment slip with the same logo as your shop, with your shop URL then seal the parcel with a sticker with that same logo, that customer is going to remember you. They will remember the way you packed the parcel and they would have seen your logo three times now. Obvioulsy a great logo is important, but that is for another day!

Creating a brand that people remember is important and if you are not sure what you message you are trying to convey with your brand there is help available.  Fiona Humberstone at Flourish Studios is running a one day branding workshop and if you live near enough to attend I would highly recommend it.  I read Flourish Studios blog religously and I admit that I love their designs, which are always fresh and just seem to fit the company perfectly that they have designed for.  For more information about this workshop please visit Flourish Studios website.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Great points about consistency of logo Zoe. It's often overlooked by crafters with great talent and it really does mean that you miss opportunities.

Thanks also for the lovely plug ;-)

Unknown said...

Branding is very important. I know people comment on how they look for my hearts on twitter and I'm carrying branding through my packaging, using my hearts logo where I can and touches of pink to help create gorgeous packaging that is 'Poppy Sparkles'.

Getting creative with branding your packaging is something crafters or designer-makers are well placed to do. I include hand-punched hearts in two different shades of pink - it's pretty confetti to pretty up my organza bags, but it also 'brands' my packaging as Poppy Sparkles. It's a simple, inexpensive idea, but reinforces my brand and logo.

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