Branding Advice / What is the biggest impact professional branding has had on your business?
Have you put off hiring a designer to professionally brand your business because it doesn't seem worth the investment?
It's certainly not a small investment to make and it's easy to convince yourself that you can get by doing your branding yourself. And the truth is, you can. (Yep, a professional designer just that!)
But, do you really want to just get by with things in your business? Wouldn't you rather thrive and be proud of it?
I reached out to some past clients, as well as other small businesses that have really great, professional branding, and asked them the following question:
"What is the biggest impact professional branding has had on your business?"
Find out from other small business owners, like yourself, if professional branding is really worth the money!
Jessie Bennett
Jessie Bennett Photography
Professional branding for my business has impacted not only my business, but me personally as a business owner. Through the entire branding process I learned so much about myself and my business…where I was, and where I wanted to be. Professional branding inspired me to move forward, to push past insecurities, and to grow with my business.
Branding goes so much farther than a pretty logo…it helps to tell your story. Who you are, what you are, and why you are.
Branding my business with the help from Megan at Letterform, has been the without a doubt, the best business decision I have made not only for business and the bottom line, but for myself. To look at my brand and be proud of the work I do and love how I am represented in the marketplace has been life changing.
Melissa Bailey
Coast Beauty Co
Professional branding is the best investment I’ve made for my business.
Before hiring on a design team, my head was filled with creative ideas for my business but they weren’t all cohesive. Taking the time to pull inspiration, create moodboards and focus on our ideal customer helped build a strong foundation.
From there, bringing in a team of experts to capture that into branding, elevated the business to another level. Customers felt that they could connect to the brand. They were inspired by it, they could relate to it and they were engaged.
In turn, it meant more sales and more interest from media and retailers. It also gave me more clarity in the business. Now, with every decision I make, I ask “is this on brand for Coast?” and it guides me to do what’s best for the business and my customers.
Amber Michels
Your Milk Shoppe
I get compliments all the time about the branding and overall feel of my business. Without having branding that I felt 100% certain of and confident about, I would not have been as certain and confident about the direction and mission of my business.
I receive inquiries from people all over the country: both looking for a job at YMS and exploring hiring us for services because people notice my logo and soon after fall in love with our overall brand and mission.
It is absolutely crucial for all business owners to take branding seriously when launching their business. It is the first impression that will undoubtedly speak to your audience.
Emma Lemke
Floral & Mineral
Professional branding has had a huge impact on my mindset towards my business and who I attract as clients. I started out as a "self-acclaimed" and "self-taught" florist. Because of this, I felt like a fraud! I couldn't believe people were paying me!
Running a business is a lot about mindset and I didn't realise that so many people are "faking it until they're making it"! I had a love and passion for flowers & I loved using my creativity in this direction, but I wasn't sure at all how to run an effective business.
Because I had a mind set of "I'm a fraud", "no one would want to pay me properly" and "I really need the work, so I should discount, discount, discount!" my business really wasn't doing that great at all.
My logo and branding definitely helped to change this for me. When I got a professional logo, business cards and a website, all of a sudden I felt real and I definitely looked more professional and "real". I have so many clients come to me because they're attracted to my brand or my website. My logo helped me to stand out among the rest and it made me realise that I actually did have something great to offer in my business.
My mindset began to change. I started to see myself as a pretty darn good florist and someone worth spending your money on. I think because of my clean, professional and great branding, clients saw me this way too. I went from having clients with an average flower budget of $300 to an average of $2,500. This average is increasing yearly and I now do flowers for weddings with between $4,000- $5,000 flower budgets.
I owe a lot of this success to my brand. It not only communicates to my audience that I'm the real deal and have something great to offer, but it communicated to me that I'm the real deal and have something great to offer. If you have a great brand, you will start to believe in yourself. And, if you believe in yourself, your customers will believe in you.
Meri Kate Perguson
Writing to Remember
Branding was difficult for me to wrap my head around in the beginning because I naively thought of Writing to Remember solely as a passion project, and in that thought the passion behind the project would be displayed in the writing.
However, when spending some time thinking about companies and organizations I'm drawn to and love, I quickly realized that their branding was a reflection of their mission and values.
I began to view branding as a sneak peak into the heartbeat of an organization. And when it came time to look into branding for Writing to Remember, I was able to understand that it is more than a pretty graphic or unique artwork, it's an opportunity to invite people into the heartbeat of your cause.
Poor branding or lack of branding can distract people from seeing what you're truly about which in turn can minimize someone's chance of connecting with the important message you have to share.
Connecting people with your mission is the number one goal, and I immediately saw where a professionally executed brand opened the door to this. It not only drew people to the site, but allowed the bridge of trust to be built more quickly so they were able to engage.
Branding has helped me articulate what Writing to Remember is all about so that those who visit it time and time again find WTR memorable and familiar, and those who visit it for the first time can quickly understand what WTR has to offer them.
Lauren Miller
Lauren Louise Photography
Hiring a professional designer for my photography company's branding has been the single best investment I've made since owning my business.
Washington DC is a saturated wedding market, so it wasn't enough to be an expert at my craft; I needed to have a brand that would help me stand out, and reflect how passionate I am about storytelling.
My designer created a cohesive look that reflected my personality and business mission. She used warm colors and clean lines to compliment my photos, but still let them do the talking. As my designer says, "Your brand is a marriage of your unique vision, voice, and totally rad ideas."
My favorite part of the re-branding experience was my designer's ability to bring the concepts of my brand to life. When I had trouble communicating my ideas to her, she helped me to articulate them in a way that made sense.
Mari Wuellner
Mari Wuellner Coaching
Until I worked with Megan on my professional branding I was pretty much 'all over the place'. I tried marketing to EVERYONE.
While working with Megan she asked me insightful questions that required me to really drill down into the why behind my brand. She was able to help me streamline my focus and pinpoint my ideal clients.
The biggest impact is FOCUS. Focus on who I could best serve and who I should be really marketing to.
Celine Mactaggart
24 East
Professional branding has been invaluable in determining our direction, and constantly serves as a touchstone for who we are and the pillars we continue to represent.
Working with Rowan Made was seamless and I learned a lot from Bre. I was impressed with her organization of the process, ability to hone in on our desired direction, and came to trust her. Every time I listened to her, it turned out to be the correct call.
Every time I reach out to someone for an interview, they remark at how beautiful the site is, and that has been key in securing the level of interviews we have been able to get; and has been the pivotal factor that attributed to our growth in just one year.
Sophia Jordan
Sophia Jordan Photography
It professionally represents the values my business stands for. My branding distinguishes me from other businesses; it helps set me apart and communicate my business values.
Kim Butler
The Whiteboard Room
I've never considered myself to be very artistic but I have always appreciated art. As I began to work in the creative industry my appreciation broadened to branding and design which is what made my first investment as an entrepreneur easy: branding and design. I recognized how important it is to make a good first impression; and in business that first impression is almost always your brand.
The biggest impact professional branding has had on my business is that it gave a refined first impression to my potential clients. When your brand is unclear you lose credibility, especially with creatives, so having an aesthetic and clear brand brought me a greater level of credibility early on.
Kay Wen
Siizu
The SiiZU brand has benefited greatly from a very strong name that ultimately formed the spine of our brand. Our name “SiiZU” is a combination of the Finnish term “sisu”, which represents bravery and steel-like determination, and the Japanese term “Shizu”, which carries the meaning of a quiet, serene and clear world. These qualities combined truly represent our philosophy perfectly.
With these clear qualities and directions, our design team came up with a custom typeface for our logo that gives out a gentle yet resolute look and feel. The round edges of our SiiZU logo flows into the harder edges seamlessly, while the white space between each letter help to give the logo an overall light and airy feel.
This strong brand identity has certainly helped us with locking down our website design, where we were able to quickly pick out exactly how we would like our website to look and feel. Moreover, throughout our exploration of our brand identity, the SiiZU team were also able to re-learn about what the brand stands for, as the designing of our brand identity really dove into the core of our business and distilled the essential message of our company.
Elizabeth Mayberry
Oak and Oats
The biggest impact professional branding has made on my business has been brand recognition and identity. Ever since I rebranded, Oak + Oats and my logo go hand in hand. But it is more than that - the colors, style, topics, voice - they all create a cohesive brand and draw all the aspects of my brand together (I'm a blogger, photographer, shop owner, & educator).
It has been so beneficial to be easily recognizable and have an audience who knows exactly what to expect from me and my site. It also keeps me on track! I have a million ideas swirling around in my head but the only ones that get worked out until completion are inline with my brand and my values.
It's a win-win for everyone! I finally have an organized, intentional, attractive brand that my readers are loyal to!
Have you invested in professional branding? If so, what is the biggest impact it's had on your business? If not, are you convinced it's worth it? Tell me in the comments below!