Depending from the niche your company belongs, today there is huge competence when it comes to branding. Every company tries to make name for itself. Here are some points describing what are the advantages of having a good company brand:

• A good brand image facilitates business development with investors, future clients, partners and suppliers.
• A company with a successful brand carves an enviable, leadership position in its market.
• A business that is recognized and appreciated by target markets can attract and appeal to more customers.
• A strong brand distances a company from its competition.
• Long-standing and trustworthy relationships with a brand can help a company weather a crisis.
• Although a direct link is difficult to establish, a successful brand can have an impact on your revenues.

The best ways to create a brand for your company:

1. Create a Standout Logo

A good logo will go a long way. Unless you are able to create one on your own, which looks professional, you’ll need to hire an expert. You can find designers to help you create an image that lets people know what you and your company stands for instantly.

According to Entrepreneur, “While brainstorming logo ideas by yourself is a crucial step in creating your business image, trying to create a logo completely on your own is a mistake.”

Fortunately you don’t have to spend a fortune to find help. To save money, it’s best to have a rough idea of what you’d like. Brainstorm with friends and do some basic research. Don’t worry, it’s fun! Check out other company logos. Determine which ones you like and which you don’t.

What makes a good logo? There are a few key elements that make for a successful logo. Ask yourself, if that logo is:

• Functional: Will it work on a letterhead, a business card as well as a large poster?
• Aesthetic: No one likes an ugly image.
• Original: If you use clip art, it will be obvious. Create original art.
• Appropriate: A plumber might have pipes in their logo or a large wrench. A humongous diamond ring would not be a good choice.
• Timeless: Pick a logo that will work into the next decade. For instance a picture of a stocky man doing the Gangnam Style dance probably won’t mean much in five years (at least I hope it doesn’t).
• Simple: A complex drawing with obscure references might confuse potential clients. Keep the drawing clean and simple.

Take all those ideas and any sketches to talk to whoever you get to help you create the final logo. Talk it ALL through with them. The more you tell them the better job they’ll do.

2. Be Relatable

Virtually everyone knows their company should be relatable, but too few understand what that really means. The world’s most relatable brands have made it their mission to understand their customers problems, and focus on being the de facto solution. That’s why Nike represents athletic triumph, and Geico represents price-sensitivity. Know your buyer personas, and be their solution.

3. Have a Presence on Social Media

Social media is one of the best ways to build a brand these days. Get basic social media accounts and update them regularly with pictures, deals and other information about your company. Find things that are related and appeal to your customers and give them the chance to interact.

• For example, if you’re a travel company, post a picture of a beautiful location with a message something like: “Counting down the weeks to summer vacation and some time to unwind! Where do you want to travel this year?”
• Do not become spam. Avoid constantly pushing your brand in an annoying way or without context or to people that have no interest. Stay out of your customer’s recycle bins. Be real and conversational, not a metaphorical sleazy car salesman.

4. Develop a Marketing Strategy

Have a plan in place to get your brand name in as many stores and in front of as many people as possible. Depending on the product or service you’re offering, you might want to consider taking out ads online, in newspapers, in magazines, and wherever you might find new customers.

• Apply your branding, including your visual brand and brand messages, to all of your materials—from packaging, signage and stationery, to your website and marketing materials. Don’t be shy about boldly branding your products and displaying them in as many venues as possible. You want your brand to be everywhere people look.
• Advertise your brand in unexpected places. Radio advertisements, employee uniforms, and freebies with logos (such as tissues or pens) are all relatively inexpensive ways to promote your brand.
• See if you can get publicity from a local newspaper, TV station or blog who will review your product or service.

5. Have an Amazing Website

This is the age of the Internet and social media, so having a website is central to building a brand. It’s fine to base your business in the flesh and traditional media, but if you don’t at least have a website, you’ll be seen as old fashioned and inaccessible. Hire a professional or use a template and get a nice looking website. This should, at a minimum, discuss what your brand is about, where your offices can be found, what your hours are, and how you can be contacted.

• Use your site as an opportunity to tell your story proudly. People have an easier time understanding something that fits into a story, and they’ll especially identify with things that let them feel like they’re a part of that story. Give your customers a story that they can be a part of if you want to build your brand into a big name. Publish it on your website’s “about” page or distribute it in your publicity materials.
• For example, in the ’80’s and ’90’s, Microsoft painted themselves as a company that pulled themselves up by their bootstraps in order to become the most innovative and effective product in their field. This resonated with business-oriented individuals, who wanted to see their own lives in the same way and who could feel apart of that spirit of greatness by buying Microsoft products.

6. Let the customers get to know you

Many people choose a business because they trust the owners and believe in the company. Consider using yourself as the face of the brand and letting customers get to know you. Some companies choose to stop using their “avatar” man character on their website and other ads and replaced the cartoon with a picture of the CEO. The companies also added the words “locally owned and operated” in all marketing campaigns and materials. Additionally, CEO can begin sharing stories and writing a column to customers in the newsletter.

7. Give something bono to your target customers

Think about your potential customers and brainstorm about items that they would appreciate or put to good use. Robin Samora, president of Boston-based LetsMakeYouShine, says the company came up with a creative way to reach an audience being sought by a law firm. They targeted construction sites and gave construction workers free coffee with the law firm’s logo on stickers on each cup. They would also hand out postcards outlining the firm’s services targeted to construction workers. “This is an informal way for an attorney to meet construction workers, who may need consultation or have workers’ comp or personal injury questions,”.

8. Create Relationship with Your Customers

If you are lucky enough to have following or a customer base that appreciates you, don’t take it for granted – appreciate them back!

If a customer has invested time in writing to you, reply in a form of a personalised letter, a discount code, a video or anything else that fits your brand. This will surely increase customer loyalty and referrals.

Remember to keep things human, in other words, keep it personal and do not automate and robotize, as people can quickly spot a sincere act from a fake one.

9. Design a creative business card.

When you hand someone a typical business card, they usually put it in their pocket and mostly don’t look at it again. Take this opportunity to turn something boring into something memorable. Wiz Development helped the law firm use fake folded million dollar bills as calling cards with the back side of the bill with the attorney’s photo, contact information and a call to action. Who wants to throw out a million dollar bill?

10. Team Importance

Brand recognition is a term heard over and over again. It is not a marketing word, but a highly important factor of branding. At least 50% of your branding is online, but how about the other 50%?

Your team needs to represent your brand cohesively. If you you are a financial firm with a super serious website and copy, the last thing you need is for your team members to be clowning around in meetings. Your employees must always be able to represent the brand as it is.

There are brands that truly understands the value of customer service. They are able to maintain the same language, whether a customer calls or chats with them. The feeling of “nothing is impossible” is what keeps customers coming back, and most importantly, referring you to their peers.