Tag: Branding
5 Factors To Consider When Hiring A Branding Expert For Your Business
In the last few years, more and more businesses are realizing the importance of branding. As against sales and marketing, businesses know that branding is essential for the long-term vision, sustainability, and growth of an organization. While many businesses have made the mistake of equating branding with marketing, there is growing awareness that the two are separate in form and function. This is leading many businesses to invest in strategic branding experts that can help them. In this resource article, we are going to look at five factors that businesses should consider before hiring branding experts, consultants, or strategists. If you are a business owner looking to invest in a long-term branding exercise, this article will guide you in the right direction. How can a Branding Expert help a Business: What you need to know Before we get to the list of factors that should be considered, it would be better if we discuss how a branding expert can help a business in the first place. Business owners are in agreement that branding is important. What they do not know is how they should proceed. Many have the mistaken assumption that branding is only logo designing, social media presence, and marketing! While this is not entirely false, the above constitutes just about 5% of what branding is all about. In reality, a branding expert can help a business optimize three main focus areas about the brand- Tangible Visual Properties- photoshoots, imagery, social media presence, logo designs, color schemas, fonts, website, blog section, and videos. Tangible Textual Content- brand motto, values, culture, mission statement, blog articles, slogans or taglines, social media copy, and content. Intangible Brand Promise- credibility, culture, personality, trust, levels and positioning, perception, experiences, customer service, and support. As you can see from what we have mentioned above, this is a fairly exhaustive list of topics. An experienced and credible branding expert will help you address all the above goals and objectives. List of 5 Factors to Consider when Hiring a Branding Expert for your Business 1. Creativity- While technical specializations are an important aspect of the digital age, you want the branding expert/consultant/agency to be creative. Some of the leading brand strategists like Bennet Schwartz have several years of experience as Creative Director. Creativity is an essential factor you should look at as branding is all about good storytelling that captures audiences. 2. Experience- Being great at branding requires years of experience. This is not something you can get up and get good at. It requires sophistication, expertise, and years of executing marketing and social media strategies. Great branding experts that lead organizations are often Creative Directors with a graphic design or copywriting background. You need to look for at least five years. 3. Past Client Credentials- If you are lucky enough to get a branding expert that has worked with a business in your niche, you are on the right path. Even if you do not get one, the key is to look at past client portfolios. Ask the agency or expert to take you through the kind of work they did. Focus on both the creative as well as the technical ROIs. Do not hire someone before establishing credentials. 4. Timelines and ROIs on the Project- Small trick- if the branding expert says that they will get you the moon and stars within six months, they are lying. You should bail immediately. Experts will tell you that branding is a long-term gain where you need to invest for at least two or three years to start seeing results. It is best to get a definite answer in this regard as it will help guide your business expectations. 5. Prices, Payment Structures, and Affordability- This ultimately depends on what you are asking the branding agency to do. If you want the whole suite of what we mentioned in the earlier sections, you are looking at sizable costs. However, you can always break it up into stages and ensure incremental payments. Make sure to discuss the same with the agency so that there are no problems later on the payment front. The Final Word Branding differs from business to business. It is a completely individualized experience that comes with a customized strategy. In other words, what worked for one brand might not necessarily work for someone else. This is something that separates great branding experts from the ones who are just in the market to make some money. If you have any questions, you would like us to address, please let us know in the comments below. Read Also: Role of Promotional items in branding How To Find Best Podcast Topics Ideas In 2021 5 Critical Branding Tips to Attract New Clients to Your Auto Parts Shop
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Getting a Return on Investment From Using a Trade Show Booth
It's easy to find people who will swear that getting a massive ROI from a trade show booth is nearly impossible. That is not the case, by any means. Most likely, those people failed to use some of the tips in this article. Companies that have, however, have experienced massive success with their trade show booth. Here's what they did. 1. Putting Branding First For people who have never heard of your organization before, your booth is their first impression of your brand. If you can make it a positive one, that will result in them being more eager to do business with you. That's why it's crucial to make sure that your booth reflects the unique features of your brand. Incorporating creativity into your branding can help, as it allows you to stand apart from other booths, encouraging more people to take an interest. 2. Having a Friendly Design It's almost certain that there will be other booths around, and attendees might not have enough time to have an in-depth interaction with all of them. That's why having a design that not only showcases your brand but invites people is important. Brands that have worked with ExpoMarketing to create high-performing booths have been presented with unmatched designs. It also helps to have staff surrounding the booth, so that people have someone to talk to and interact with when they decide to explore it. Attendees can also be treated to interactive such as touchscreens, through which they can learn more about your business while having fun. 3. Capitalizing on Word-of-Mouth Marketing A successful trade show booth generates buzz long after the trade show itself. To do this, you need to have something that ensures that people keep talking about your business and the way you presented it. One of the most successful ways to achieve that is to hand out things like stickers and wearables. StickerYou has wide options of premium custom stickers for all your business printing and branding needs. At the end of the event, you can give out prizes to people who wear your merch. It's important to be strategic about the prizes and to make them things that people are likely to display in full view of others. That way, you'll keep generating conversations about your brand and winning over new customers and clients. 4. Networking Meeting attendees before the trade show can have a profound effect on how your booth performs. You'll also be able to gather contact information from people so you can stay in touch and have a chance to convert them later on. When meeting people before a booth, you can On the day of the trade show, people will be more likely to visit your booth because they'll feel a sense of familiarity with it, unlike others that will seem completely alien. When meeting them, however, it's important to focus less on talking about your business and what it does. Rather, you can try to gather as much information about them and what they do. When people do visit your booth, you'll be able to start a conversation based on how you're equipped to help them with the problems they mentioned to you earlier. Combining all these tips will ensure that you have a booth that will have a huge positive ROI, resulting in more clients and customers. The sooner you start thinking about how you're goese tips, the more success you're likely to have with your trade show booth. Read Also: Execute The Perfect Expo With This Trade Show Checklist A Well-Oiled Trade Show Machine: The Ones Running The Show
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10 Tips to Design the Perfect Business Card
Handing out business cards is a good way to promote your brand and foster personal connections. But, the creation of perfect and memorable cards clearly remains a challenge. Research shows: 88%—or 9 out of 10—of distributed business cards will be thrown out within one week. How to Design the Perfect Business Card So, what makes these tangible objects impressive? A lovely design. The perfect business card doesn’t only present your contact information. It also communicates your brand’s professionalism. So, if you’re interested in making a positive impression, consider the business card design tips below. 1. Adhere to the Principles of Good Design The perfect business card is a visual representation of your brand. It’s a determining factor in whether people trash your card. And, the following elements of good design are important in capturing people’s attention: Alignment and length Color scheme Content hierarchy Typography Kern Layout Tracking White Space 2. Avoid Complexity in Design When designing the perfect business card, you should aim for simplicity. Simplicity in color and contrast to prevent overwhelm. Simplicity in fonts to prevent difficulty in reading. Remember, you want a prospect or customer to reach out to you for help with their needs. And, by avoiding complexity, you make it easy for them to read your contact information, call your number, and partner with you for your services. 3. Provide Key Information Above, we discussed simplicity in design. And, you can keep it simple by only presenting the information required to communicate who you are, what you do, and how to contact you. Details such as: Name Title, role, or function Business name and logo Physical address Telephone number If space allows, for social connections, you can also add virtual information. For instance, you can include: Professional e-mail address Website landing page or blog address One or two professional social media handles QR code 4. Emphasize Benefit and Value You should also take it a step further and emphasize your benefits. In other words, the perfect business card should do two things: Tell (or remind) people about what you can do for them Tell (or remind) people about the value you offer Limit your explanation to a line or two, describing your service, specialization, and value statement. 5. Consider a Nontraditional Shape Can you choose the standard 3.5x2 inch horizontal rectangle/square? Yes. But nowadays, you also have more creative options available. With die-cuts, for example, you can choose from a variety of shapes: Circle Folded Half-Circle Leaf Oval Rounded Corners Single Rounded Corner Slim Vertical 6. Improve Your Card’s Appearance Additionally, you can improve the look and feel of your business card, through imprinting. Again, you have several methods to choose from: CMYK or Four-Color Printing Embossing Debossing Foil Stamping PMS or Pantone Matching System Depending on your chosen imprint, “finishes”—such as lamination, UV, and spot coatings—can also positively enhance your card’s quality and design. 7. Invest in High-Quality Materials Presentation is an important part of designing the perfect business card. And, the quality of your chosen material impacts your brand’s impression. You have a few choices, when choosing your card’s paper, weight, and thickness: regular, plastic, textured, thick, thin. But, high-quality material is a better investment. How do we know? The National Institutes of Health’s research on haptic sensations found: physical touch can influence the impressions and thoughts formed about people and situations. 8. Ensure Branding Consistency What you shouldn’t do, when designing your business card, is display a lack of cohesion in branding. If there are style, color, and typography inconsistencies in your marketing materials, then people will notice. Remember, your brand identity helps customers and prospects recognize your business. And, when consistent, your business cards reinforce your visual elements. 9. Double-Check for Errors and Unreadable Text You want customers to take you seriously. To trust you. So, double-checking your business cards, before printing, is critical. Read, reread, and edit. Search for spelling, punctuation, grammar, layout, and omission mistakes. But, don’t stop there. Also, make sure your business card is readable by: Using at least 8 point fonts Using font colors complementary to its background 10. Beware Printing Specifications When designing the perfect business card, you must ensure optimal printing. Many printers stop at a certain point. So, it’s important to consider the following specifications: Bleed Area. You should include at least a 1/8” bleed area as it eliminates white space during printing. Safe Area. The center of the business card is the safe area, so you want all your readable text and graphics there. Ready to Design Your Card? Now, you're armed with 10 good design tips for creating the perfect business card. Use this Vistaprint coupon code to save on your next order. Will you apply them? If so, you'll have what you need to increase your brand awareness, make a memorable impression, and even attract new clients. Read also: 7 Big Myths About Small Business Growth Tips For Small Businesses To Raise Funds For Their Projects
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