CrazyLeaf Editorial In a sea of web design companies, standing out is both an art and a strategy. After all, if a web design firm can’t effectively brand itself, how will potential clients trust it to brand them? If you’re looking for helpful tips on how to improve your firm’s brand identity, this article has everything you need and more.
Brand vs. Website
The internet has lowered the barriers to entry in almost every industry. And, in many cases, it’s totally removed barriers altogether. Whereas you once had to jump through a bunch of complicated hoops to start a business, anyone can now do it online in a matter of hours. This is positive on many levels, but has also led to major saturation in many markets (as well as an influx of people who don’t understand the intricacies of growing a business).
Over the past couple of decades, it seems as if many people have confused “having a website” with building a “brand.” Creating a website and offering a product or service is easy. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you have a brand. In order to cultivate a brand, there has to be some intentionality and strategy behind it.
As HubSpot explains, “A brand is the identity and story of a company that makes it stand out from competitors that sell similar products or services. The goal of branding is to earn space in the minds of the target audience and become their preferred option for doing business.”
In other words, it actually requires some effort and vision to create a brand. And if you want your web design business to be successful, you have to move beyond the create-a-website-and-sell-something approach and focus on the build-a-brand-that-resonates end of the spectrum.
3 Tips for Branding Your Web Design Firm
As you focus on building up your company’s brand, here are several tips that will allow you to get better results:
Establish a Distinct Visual Language
While you don’t have to create an eccentric brand, you can’t just blend in and look like everybody else. There has to be a distinct visual language that captures attention and makes people clearly recognize your brand.
As you design (or redesign) your brand, get clear on your color palette, typography, and logo design. These are the frontal elements of your brand. These are the things people notice above all else. Emphasize and prioritize them as much as possible.
Craft a Brand Story That Resonates
While your visual identity is what people immediately recognize, it’s your brand’s story that sticks with them and helps establish that strong relationship.
Begin by identifying the values that underpin your web design firm. Are you committed to innovation, excellence, creativity, or customer-centricity? Your core values should be authentic and guide your business decisions.
You also need a mission statement or unique sales proposition (USP). This should answer the questions of what you do, why you do it, and who benefits from it. It’s basically a guiding light for your team (and something that customers can align with).
If you’re having trouble creating a brand story, you’re not alone. This is one of the more challenging aspects. This is where having a digital PR firm on speed dial can help. They understand the nuances of crafting and telling your story (which is a crucial aspect of branding).
Aim for Cross-Platform Consistency
Consistency is probably the most overlooked component of successful brand building in today’s scattered digital landscape. It’s not enough to have a good brand “living” on your website – that brand must be consistent when it goes off the page and ventures into social media, advertisements, and even print media.
A brand is nothing without consistency. The moment you lose that consistency is the moment that you lose trust within the marketplace. People intuitively assume that your lack of consistency means a lack of identity and an unwillingness to commit. That’s a death sentence for a brand.
Adding it All Up
Building a brand isn’t as easy as some make it out to be. But it is a necessary investment that will separate you from all of the “websites” that offer web design services. Any investment you make in this area of your business will yield plentiful dividends in the years to come.
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