Many small businesses stand accused of giving their image the short shrift. Are you one of them? The lack or absence of continuity in appearance and messaging influence how prospects and clients perceive the business, its products or services. Make a note to self: You do not have to be or have the budget of Nike or Nissan to establish or makeover your brand. In 7 Steps to a New Image for Your Small Business Without Spending Much, John Boitnott offers excellent advice for shoestring budgets. Here are four of Boitnott’s recommendations to get you started.
Conduct an image audit
Before you can figure out where you’re going, you must first know where you stand. Take an in-depth look at your current branding and try to see things through your customers’ eyes. Compare it side by side to brands that are reaching the goals you hope to achieve.
Rethink your colors
Data-driven design is has become an important part of branding, with businesses using proven concepts to engage audiences. Color and content placement are an essential part of successful design, as marketers have found.
But you don’t have to shell out a large sum of money to a marketing firm to learn how to design pages and logos that compel customers to take action. This starts with using colors that reflect the image you’re hoping to achieve.
Listen to your customers
Throughout the makeover process, you should be guided by analytics and customer feedback. This begins before you make any changes. Note the keywords and sources customers use to get to your site and how they interact with your site once they arrive.
Strive for consistency
As you seek to expand your customer base, be careful not to alienate existing customers. Companies like Starbucks and Target are examples of companies that have created a logo that persists despite years of slight marketing changes. If you already have a loyal customer base, only consider making only slight tweaks to your logo, if that. Work with that logo to create new marketing materials around it.
Read the article at Entrepreneur.com.
Bonus:
Read LGK’s previous post on the importance of a marketing assets inventory and obtain a handy checklist to help evaluate your image and brand. Visit this link for download instructions.
Take the Color Quiz, a nifty and free tool from Grasshopper, a virtual phone system platform for entrepreneurs. It will help you select the right color for your marketing assets (logos, websites, and collateral). Visit this link and get started.
For inspiration, motivation, kicks and giggles, check out the WebHostingBuzz infographic below to see a few famous rebrands through the years.
Do you have a cost-effective tip for an image makeover? Feel free to share your experience in the comments section of this post.
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