No matter how hard I try to help people understand, it feels like an uphill battle sometimes.
Sure, it’s a battle I’m willing to fight, but it’s amazing how hard it is to help people understand this one little thing…
Branding today is more than just a logo or graphics. Branding is an EXPERIENCE.
Branding is the experience your customers and audience have of your business.
Branding is your identity and how authentic it appears to people who may not know you.
The logo, the graphics, they’re all there to support the experience.
So how do we experience anything?
We experience things through our senses. We see, we hear, we smell, we touch, we taste.
To my new age friends – yes we may have some other senses we’re not aware of or that we haven’t fully developed but let’s stick with the basics 🙂
Communication today happens through the 5 senses so creating an experience for our audience is about curating a sensory experience.
Colors do this. Symbols like your logo do this. Language and speech, videos, imagery… all create the experience.
Our goal with branding is to curate that experience.
It may start with a website or logo, but that’s not where it ends.
What about your product? Is it an experience?
What about your in-person communication? How you invoice? How you follow up? Customer service? Don’t all these things factor into the experience of your business?
Everything we do communicates something about who we are. So branding today is about creating and crafting this collective experience. An experience that hopefully is greater than the sum of its parts.
Now, you might think – “Well, I’m not an artist so I can’t do branding.”
Sure, if you limit branding to graphics you may need help.
BUT there are so many other ways to create a “Brand Experience.”
- Send new customers a follow up thanking them for their business.
- Create a nice welcome email when they sign up, or send an e-card.
- Have someone in charge of keeping up with leads or prospects and send free information pertaining to their business.
- Create a special event, like a Happy Hour, for clients and employees.
- Send a small gift after a successful engagement.
- Personalize a video to anyone who signs up to your email list.
Do the little things that make people feel special.
Do things that are different than how everyone else in your industry does them.
These things create an experience that shows people whaf you’re all about. And they’re memorable. The fact that no one in your industry does something is exactly why you should!
Does this make sense?
I know it does because it’s super simple. You just need to think a bit outside the box. Look at what other industries do. Think about businesses that were memorable to you and why. Then just start. You don’t need to hire anyone – you just need to do one little thing to start.
Remember, your brand is an experience. It’s not a logo, or graphics. The more you think about it that way, the more you can work on that experience so that it stands out and makes an impression.
Ok – I’ve talked enough. Go out there and get it!
Gil
