Connecting With Your Customers Through Your Brand Identity

Connecting With Your Customers Through Your Brand Identity
Your logo and marketing materials have many jobs, but one
of the things that they can do really well for you is to
introduce you to new clients and to help those potential
customers feel a connection with you and your business.
Alas, many small business owners overlook this valuable
role for their materials when designing them, and so any
connection often happens by accident alone.

Considering that the connections that most small businesses
are making with their logos marketing materials, and
websites are happening by accident, these businesses are
actually doing rather well. But what could their business
growth and sales cycle look like if they could improve the
way that they connect with their ideal clients?

The top 3 ways to ensure that your designs will appeal to
your target audience and begin to form this connection with
them are:

1. Design your materials with your customer's preferences
in mind. The most common mistake that small business owners
make when designing their brand identities is to create the
design to reflect their own tastes. I met a financial
planning consultant at a networking event a few months
back, and she wanted to "pick my brain" about her thoughts
for a logo. She mentioned that she wanted her logo to be an
aqua-blue seahorse, because those were her favorite image
and color. But when I questioned her further about her
business, I found that she worked largely with male heads
of households on their families' financial planning needs.
While an aqua seahorse might represent her preferences, I
suggested that it might not catch the eye and the
imagination of her projected client, and that she think
more about the types of images and color palettes that
would appeal men who were hiring her to manage their money.
I believe that I convinced her that this approach will
result in a better connection with her potential customer
base, and will help her to close more business with her
prospects.

This approach to establishing connections extends beyond
your company's logo: picking appropriate layouts, fonts,
and photos for any marketing piece can make that piece
connect with your target audience much more quickly.
Something as simple as choosing stock photos that feature
people of the same ethnicity or gender as your target
audience can greatly increase your sales and decrease often
subtle, hidden resistance to your business image.

2. Test your materials with your target audience. This
means asking not just whoever's hanging around, but with
real potential clients. I can't tell you how many times I
have completed the first round of logo designs for a
client, just for them to come back and say, "My mom HATES
them!" I certainly sympathize with this impulse to check
your ideas with a respected friend or family member; I tend
to run my own designs by my mom, against my better
judgment. But if your mom-or whoever you're running your
design focus group with-isn't part of your target audience,
then it really doesn't matter if she likes it or not. In
fact, if you're trying to sell your products or services to
college-age men, for example, it's probably a good thing if
your mom doesn't like it!

So, where do you find potential clients to test your
materials on? Ask your past clients what they think about
your new designs, or poll friends in your target
demographic. I even had one client who would ask potential
customers that she stood in line with at the coffee place
and post office about their thoughts on her logo.

3. Make your materials magnetic. Don't misunderstand: not
everyone should love, or even necessarily understand, your
logo and marketing materials. A small business's logo
should make the prospect react emotionally to your company,
pulling the right people toward working with you and
pushing the wrong people away. Unless you're a big company
selling a mass-market product, designing a logo that
everyone loves is not necessary, nor even in your best
interests.

If you're creating a logo and marketing materials and you
want everyone that you meet to like them, then you're in
for a very long design process. And your logo won't be able
to perform one of its most important jobs: making sure that
you're spending your time talking to the most qualified
clients. As a small-business owner, you probably run the
business, do the sales, and have a bunch of other tasks as
well. If people in your target audience like your logo and
marketing materials, but people outside of that demographic
don't connect with them, then it's less likely that the
people you don't want to work with will become engaged in
the sales cycle with you. And it's always better to sell to
interested and qualified prospects rather than people who
are just "kicking the tires" or getting competitive quotes.

Keeping your customer's perspective in mind when designing
your materials makes those materials relevant to your
customers, creating a valuable tool for your business. A
client wants to feel understood and well-cared-for
throughout the sales cycle. If your designs truly take your
clients' tastes into account, are tested and approved by
your ideal clients, and make people react in an emotionally
positive way to your company, then those designs will be
more than just a pretty pieces: they will help you to talk
to the right customers, to connect with them, and,
ultimately, to grow your business.

----------------------------------------------------
Erin Ferree is a brand identity designer who creates big
visibility for small businesses. As the owner of elf
design, Erin is passionate about helping her clients stand
out in front of their competition and attract more clients.
Her "Define Your Difference Branding Workbook" will help
you define your brand so that you can connect with your
target audience.
http://www.elf-design.com/products-define.html