Branding
Think distinctive, not different
Use brand codes to stand out from the clutter
Small businesses ignore branding, as they focus on growing the business. Businesses lose to competitors as customers do not even recognize their existence.
Marketing expert Marc Ritson has been warning businesses against focussing on shiny things such as social media, brand purpose or brand archetypes. He suggests that they should first aim at being distinctive rather than aiming for differentiation. Brands should have three or four distinct brand codes. They are logo, colour, shape, pattern or image. For example Snickers and Mcdonald’s stand out from the word go due to their logos and images.
He said, “It’s about whether your brand stands out to the customer, whether it looks like itself, whether it comes to mind. This is the big job, it is 70% or 80% of it. Marketers think their brands [stand out] because they work there every day and think ‘fuck, it’s everywhere’. Customers don’t notice.
Dig deeper: How to design and develop brand identity Link
