Every business-idea is the seed of a concept. It is only after careful deliberation by the founder(s), does this germinate into a business venture. So, it is only understandable that they put their heart and soul into this venture to make this a success. Successful ventures already have a “Brand identity” in place , while the upcoming ventures strive to achieve the a certain level of excellence with their “Brand identity”. So, what’s with custom branding and success of a business venture? Well, it is so much and so less.
As a business owner, I would guess that you want that your organization be remembered amongst your clientele and most definitely, your business process would be steering towards excellence in the chosen field. But, if you ( or your business) is just a “Name”, then it is only wishful thinking that the client remembers you when a similar project comes along. The fact is, you are one of the many business associates from the client’s perspective. He (the client ) is most likely to remember the details of those with whom he has a project in progress, or those who have made a remarkable difference to his (client’s) business.
There is nothing to loose heart about here. Face it! ..that’s just how the human mind works. But like everything else, there is a work around. There are subtle ways of reminding the client, that you are well in business, grown wiser over the years, and have acquired new levels of competency without having to shout from rooftops. Make good use of “Custom Branding Solutions”, both online and offline. It is likely that you are already familiar with this, but just didn’t realise the term up until now.
What is Custom Branding?
Ever noticed those “Company Mails”, that land in your mail box both in paper & paperless offices?. Even before you take a second look, you are able to recognise the sender, from the unique stationary that is being used. Such correspondences usually have a water mark with their company logo, accompanied by their contact address and the actual message printed over this stationery. Well, simply put, it is the company’s “Letter Head”. See!, you already knew it.
Why Custom Branding?
The company could have printed ( or emailed) the actual content in a plain sheet of paper ( or a word / pdf document). Instead they have chosen to “Customise” for the fact that , this customisation is expected to trigger an offshoot of thought reflecting your association with the said company. Well, it worked .. didn’t it ?, Hence Custom Branding.
Corporate Identity – A Pre-requisite.
In order to begin with Custom Branding, it is essential that you ( your company) have a “Corporate Identity” to customise. By “Corporate Identity, I am referring to your Company Name, Company Logo & Unique Marketing Tagline , if applicable. Your company ceases to be “just another Name “, once you have these three entities in place. Rest is just a matter of affordability in time and money.
You might already have your “Company Name” registered. Perhaps you already have your tagline in place, just did not realise it. Go ahead! call a General Body meeting and conceptualise on the look and feel of the logo, rest the Graphic Designer will do it for you. An experienced Graphic designer should be able to provide you with a Logo (Graphic) that looks great in Print , Web , Colour , Greyscale ,and Completely Scalable Vectorised format.
Best Practices in Custom Branding.
As I mentioned at the start of the post, the idea is to provide that little nudge to jog the memory, not push him (client) overboard. So, subtle the better.
- Office Documents :-
- The header should include company logo, address, phone & email of the executive in charge , and url to company website.
- The footer should include things like “Private , confidential , page numbers ” etc.
- An unobtrusive logo as watermark is welcomed, but if this hinders with the viewablity of the text, then it’s a strict “No”.
- Shared Applications
- With the strides in technology, geographical boundaries have shrunk tremendously. This can be attributed to the hoards of web applications made available for multiple users.
- If you are using any of these applications, take a second look. There might be a chance that you have missed out on customising the look and feel of this application to match that of your website, such as upload company Logo, update company profile , Customise signature etc.
- Printed Stationery
- Items such as envelopes, scribble pads , pens , pencils can be embossed / engraved / printed with your company logo.
- Very effective during client meetings, where a set of stationery is provided to the client.
- Printed mugs, Tee-shirts, Daily Planner, are costlier stuffs, which are usually “gifted” during Christmas and other occasions.
Think about it, you have a Word Template in place for business correspondences with the header, watermark and footer in place. All that need be done is to reuse it , instead of having to include every item separately for every document. Same goes for official presentations ( ppt slides). The graphic, and color schema is all in place, except to add content.
Custom Branding is a bit of “extra work” to start off with, but nevertheless, pays dividend in the long run.
PJ – 🙂 Do you think I can apply for “Trademark”ing the term “Custom Branding ” :-).. what do you say ?
