Is Your Brand Identity Clear?
As a wholesaler, you are a brand. As a brand, it’s your responsibility to determine what image your business will portray to consumers. This can be both challenging and fun. Whatever it is to you, make sure you are answering the following questions in an effort to maximize your brand awareness and utlimately, your success.
1. Is your style reflected in your brand imaging? This includes your logo, website and letterhead. The list goes on, though. Everything that represents your brand should be consistent in style and similiar color so that you are leaving an impression with your customer on a consistent basis as to who you are as a brand. For example, if you sell preppy chic clothing for ladies, using bright pink and kelly green as your signature colors in both your logo and additional marketing collateral will leave an impact on your audience.
2. Does your target market respond to your branding? Are you selling a customized item but haven’t taken the time to create a customized website? Your target market will know the difference. Consider who your audience is and what expectations they may have from you as a brand. Sometimes this is hard as a small business owner to do since it is so personal. This may be a great reason to consider a retail professional to come review your branding, including your target market, and give an unbiased review. Professional review or not, make sure you are communicating your brand image outward the way you want to your audeince to perceive you. Double check that how you think you are being perceived is actually being perceived that way.
3. Is your brand identity being remembered? This includes the name of your product, as well. Make sure your brand name and identity are being remembered for the right reasons. You want your branding to make sense with your product and therefore leaving an impression on your audience. If it’s being dismissed too quickly, something is wrong (assuming the product is right). Take Pop-A-Tot (www.popatot.com), a portable activity center for infants and toddlers. You literally pop a tot into one and it does it’s job. This makes sense and can be remembered easily. Is your product doing the same?
Finally, I can’t stress enough the value a company’s website has on their brand. Particuarly when selling a product, the website style and design should reflect your product, brand image and overall business. Many small business owners try and cut corners here by creating their own site and while this isn’t a bad thing to do, sometimes it does not work in their favor. A website is one of the first places potential consumers or business partners will go to educate themselves on your brand, so make sure your website supports this.
Ted Hurlbut
Branding isn’t just for wholesalers and their products. It’s also for retailers. every small retailer is a brand, with the brand name displayed right out front on the banner. That banner, that brand, reflects everything the store is about, for better or worse. Small retailers need to be conscious of always presenting a cohesive, focused, brand to their customers, in every way that customers experience the store.