Why Branding and Identity Matters
In my 25 years working with a wide range of clients, I’ve seen a lot. Some clients come to me with an already-existing brand that just isn’t reaching the right audience, and some come to me with a business plan and nothing else, and some come with a business name and some preconceived ideas for their branding.
All of these types of clients are really interesting to me.
“Existing Brand Needs to Rebrand” Clients
The existing brand-needing-rebranding clients know they need something different. Something isn’t working, something isn’t reaching the right target audience. It might be worthwhile to consider changing the business name.
This example isn’t my client, but it is a product at my local grocery store that I think really drives home the point of how the business name can really send a very different message. That product is a company called The Ice Cream Factory. But on the side of the container, they say it’s a small-batch, family run company.
But just that word “factory” conveys a very contradictory message. I truly have no idea whether they didn’t think about that, or they were trying to be ironic. And no disrespect to them, but I would never have assumed, based on the name, that it was a small-batch, local small business.
“Coming in on the Ground Floor” Clients
With clients that already have a business plan, it’s really wonderful to be able to go through a series of brainstorming and exercises to find a business name that conveys the right tone and hits the target audience. I love watching a client have that moment where it just clicks and they find the right name. And they are usually very open to where the branding leads.
This is also the type of client that I can help with my organizational thought leadership and recommendations. Having someone who is also thinking about your business strategically but from a very different perspective can lead to more efficient processes, like tech integration, new client onboarding, and existing client experience.
“Already Partway to Launch” Clients
And then the clients that come already halfway down the path — we talk about how being really committed to a preconceived notion may not be in their best interest. The reason? I don’t want them to end up as the clients that figure out down the road that their original concept didn’t quite hit the mark. By then, they’ve wasted time and money.
With these clients, I work to help them understand that pausing and doing some exploration now can save them so much time, headache, and costs later.
I can’t tell you what an honor it is to take one of those clients, show them the range of what is possible, and have them happily choose one of the solutions we’d never have landed on if they hadn’t trusted me to explore on their behalf.
The goal is: creating a brand and an identity that aligns your business with who you are trying to attract as clients/customer, and to help you make many other aspects of your business more seamless and efficient for both your clients/customers and for you. If I can help you, let’s connect.