When starting and developing business there’s an important point to take into account – the company’s recognition. With the beautiful packaging, bright banners, eye-catching site design you will get a good few of customers. However, in order to increase sales and the number of visitors, you need a brand. It will allow your business to become popular, gain customer loyalty and boost profitability. Isn’t that your goal?

What is a brand?

You have already created a company offering a certain type of goods or services, come up with a name, and even developed a logo. Nevertheless, only corporate identity forms a single vision of the business bringing you to a new level. Another important component of successful company promotion is its brand. All three tools are distinguishable. But each of them is essential for the successful development of a business idea.

To understand what this difference is, let’s look at what is a brand, corporate identity, and a logo.

Corporate brand

  1. Corporate identity is a set of images, graphic elements, and principles of visual communication. Elements listed above are used to demonstrate the company. In other words, it is a single style that the company adheres to. You can use corporate identity elements on packaging, promotional products, stationery, digital products.
  2. Logo — a graphic image, abbreviation, words or image combination with different text elements that in tandem represent the company, its products and services.
  3. A brand is a complex notion. It can be described as company collective vision, built on the perception of its products, corporate identity, logo. A brand cannot be developed or created, it exists only in customers minds. You can only create and build its value.

“A brand is a set of expectations, memories, stories, and relationships that allow a consumer to choose one product or service in the variety of many others.” That’s how American entrepreneur Seth Godin described this notion. Pretty much this is the most accurate and concise definition.

Examples of the most famous brands are — Apple, associated with new technologies, style, fashion; Nokia — with reliable, durable phones; Mercedes-Benz — with prestige.

Create your own brand positioning strategy

innovation

One of the most complex processes in marketing strategy planning is a brand strategy development. It is based on the positioning, which is understood as the formation of the perception of your brand, the creation of an associative series and images in consumers minds.

Also, positioning helps to show the basic properties of the product and for whom and what for, it is made.

There are 8 ways to build a brand positioning strategy:

  • contrasting competitors;
  • in category;
  • for certain consumer;
  • for the benefit;
  • at the price;
  • by attribute;
  • by prestige;
  • on the application.

To develop your own brand positioning strategy, you need to identify consumers needs, find a solution to their problems, show them what your brand can give and what need covers. Also learn how your competitors position themselves, what advantages they have, what makes you better than them. It is convenient to form answers to these questions as a table for clarity. Then choose one of the listed positioning methods and adapt it to your brand. There are several secrets that will help you to build a strategy:

  • creating a unique selling proposition;
  • continuous work with the target audience;
  • storytelling, because the brand is not just clothes or dishes, it is the feelings, emotions of people behind them;
  • working with the internal brand, because the brand development strategy is not only to attract customers but also to retain the right employees.

If you do not work with the product/service, but with the brand, try to present it as a solution to consumer problems, causing emotions, creating memories. In this case, you will successfully run the desired niche, and your business will grow and bring a profit.

Start creating your company logo: best tools

logo

To make your brand recognizable, you need a logo. It can be in the form of a symbol, a picture, an icon, an image, an abbreviation, a word or a combination of the listed elements. It’s up to you how to make it. We can only describe the most popular helping you pick up the right one for your needs.

Independently with the help of graphic editors

Creating a logo using graphic editors is a complex and time-consuming process. If you do not have the skills or initial knowledge of the program functionalities, you should not undertake the logo development. If you have already worked with programs such as Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, or others, feel free to take up the task.

Advantages

Disadvantages

Full control                                                                                                                                                  It is necessary to have special skills when working with graphic editors.
It does not require financial costs Unsatisfactory result due to lack of knowledge.
Uniqueness Many hours of work, which can end as a great result, and as the creation of the low-quality logo.

Order from designer

tools

Register an account on the crowdsourcing website, and then formulate the technical specification and replenish the balance. Qualified designers will see your technical assignment and may want to proceed. You can get several offers that will participate in the competition. As a judge, you have the right to choose the most attractive design. Also, you can find the designer on the forums and work with him directly.

 

Pros

Cons

A lot of ready-made variants, if you opened a competition for your technical assignment.         If no logo fits you, you will still have to pay. (under the condition of using the crowdsourcing site).
The assigned work of high quality. The high price (when working directly).
The ability to choose the most suitable option — when ordering a tender on special sites.
Guarantee of meeting deadlines

Contact the Design Studio

online website

Prepare a detailed technical assignment clearly formulating your vision of the future logo design. Try to take into account all the nuances. With social networks, advertisements, “grapevine” find a suitable Studio and sign a contract with it to follow-up your order.

 

Advantages

Disadvantages

Professionals work The high price of provided services
A large selection of studios that are ready to undertake your logo development Long-term order performance                                                                                               
The quality result — a unique logo
Convenience in negotiations
Guarantee of the task performance in a specified term

On freelance sites

freelancing

Prepare the most detailed task. Then visit the freelance site and look for the performer.

Pros

Cons

Large selection of performers.                                                                               Constant monitoring.
Getting a high-quality, unique logo. The difficulty in choosing a reliable performer from a large list of applicants.
The risk that the freelancer will “disappear” along with your Deposit.

Using online generators

Online logo generator websites

Let’s look at this method of logo creation on the example of the popular online maker — Logaster. To get a quality result, you need to follow 4 steps:

  1. Visit the site.
  2. Enter the name of the company and select the activity field from the list.
  3. Choose your favorite option.
  4. If necessary, edit the color, picture or text by clicking first on the “View and download “button and then clicking on “Edit”.

Ready — you got a small picture of the logo, if you need a big size, you will need to pay a fee.

Advantages

Disadvantages

In most cases, it does not require large costs                                                  No possibility to make small edits to icons taken from the generator database
You control the process on your own

The logo is an integral part of the brand. And the right brand development strategy will attract more customers making your company recognizable. Therefore, the issues of brand formation and logo creation should be approached responsibly. Remember this is the key to your success in the future.