Three Brand Identity Myths That Will Bring Your Business Down

To begin, let's define "Brand Identity," which is the combination of consistent visual elements that are used in your marketing materials. A basic Brand Identity Kit consists of a logo, business card, letterhead, and envelope. It can be extended to include a website, brochure, folder, flyer, or any other professionally designed pieces.

Having a Brand Identity is incredibly important to your business's success. However, many business owners have some misconceptions about brand identities that can damage their businesses, and I've discussed those below:

My cousin can design my brand identity (logo, website, and marketing materials)There are some very significant areas of your business that should be left to the professionals.

First of all, while your cousin may have been "great in art class," this doesn't mean that they have the knowledge and expertise required to create great graphic designs. Designing a logo, business card, or website is much different than painting a picture or making a collage. You must make a brand logo scalable, meaningful, and symbolic. See my article on the "9 Keys to an Effective Logo" for more information on what factors to consider when creating a great logo.

Second, by having a professional designer on your business marketing team, your projects will be a top priority. I have many potential clients who start their designs with a friend or relative, who are then "put on the back burner", and then have their project drag on for months. After much frustration, they come to me and are amazed at how quickly things are completed. As a professional, I make your projects the most important items on my to-do list.

Finally, would you trust a friend to do something really important requiring unique skills for your business? Make an important client presentation for you, or give a speech? You probably would not, unless they're a sales professional or a professional speaker. Would you trust a friend who's "good with math" to do your corporate taxes? If you wouldn't trust an amateur with an important business function, then why would you trust an amateur with your brand identity - the key to your marketing success?

Designing a custom brand identity is too expensiveIt's true that having your marketing materials designed is an expensive proposition. But, it may be even more expensive not having a high-quality, custom brand identity professionally designed - in terms of lost business, lack of respect from your clients, not being taken seriously in business. The list continues.

A strong brand identity quickly pays for itself. For most businesses, if just a few - two or three - new clients call you over the course of your business because of the equity that your brand identity develops, this new business would pay for your logo and brand identity design package. New customers will contact you because they remember your logo, hold on to your business card, or are impressed by your brochure. It's likely that many more clients than the required few will contact you, and your business will grow from the (relatively) small initial investment in the brand identity.

Consider also that a brand identity is a sustainable expense. Once you've had a timeless logo and set of marketing materials designed, you can use them for years to come. And, once you have a strong logo, then creating consistent, targeted marketing pieces and programs is an easy addition to your existing system.

I don't need a brand identityIf you are a professional in business, you need a brand identity. You wouldn't imagine being in business without other important business essentials - your own computer, perhaps, or a business name or bank account. A brand identity is another of these basic business essentials - it's the central piece to the marketing and promoting of your business.

My professional experience has taught me that there is nothing that looks less professional than not having a professional brand identity. If you don't establish a clean, high-quality, and consistent look and feel to your materials, you'll have a much more difficult time gaining the trust of a potential client - and signing them on to use your services. All of the Fortune 500 companies have a logo, and for a good reason - it makes them look more professional. If you want to be perceived as offering a high-caliber service, you have to look polished and "put together."

About the Author

Erin Ferree, Founder and Lead Designer of elf design, is a brand identity and graphic design expert. She has been helping small businesses grow with bold, clean and effective logo and marketing material designs for over a decade. elf design offers the comprehensive graphic and web design services of a large agency, with the one-on-one, personalized attention of an independent design specialist. Erin works closely in partnership with her clients to create designs that are visible, credible and memorable - and that tell their unique business stories in a clear and consistent way. For more information about elf design, please visit:

Logo design at http://www.elf-design.com

More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More Branding Information:

Related Articles

Why You? -- Professional Identity Branding
You can have first-rate products and services, but if you can't establish the need, communicate the benefits and differentiate yourself from the competition in ways that make people want to do business with you, you'll forever be selling up hill.As Robert Krumroy, Identity Branding, Inc.
Corporate Branding and Professional Logo Design
Any business with the minimum interest to be successful should concentrate on developing their corporate image and when I say "any business", I mean it, absolutely any business-even if it's a mom-n-pop shop. "Corporate image" might be a big word for such small ventures, however, what I meant by that is how the business wants themselves to be perceived by their customers.
The Importance of Branding - Can It Really Make a Difference?
As consumers, we don't really think about the importance of branding. We just seem to go with the flow of brand names that have become synonymous with our daily living.
You Bored Me at Hello - Top Three Strategies for Networking Your Brand
"You had me at hello," those famous words from the movie Jerry McGuire let Tom Cruise know that Rene Zellweger's character was hooked from that point and the rest of his talking was unnecessary. When in networking situations, many small business owners leave people with a slightly different feeling.
The Face of Your Business, Part I
When we initially started our businesses, we had to decide how we were going to market ourselves. Kind of an obvious statement - every business has to do that.
Measuring Return On Investment
..
Corporate Internet Branding is only Part of A Business Success
Gaining new clients that are excited about developing a corporate Web site, and are gung-ho to get started is a dream come true. Trust me - as a creative individual with a keen understanding of what the Web can do for a business - I know what I'm talking about.
Too Dull? Too Sharp?
You work hard getting the right cover message and words for your brochure. Now, you want to give it a look, an image.
The MOST Expensive Mistake You Can Make
Most people who own a small business have a huge passion and talent for the product or service they provide. Some people have a business degree.
Hiring the Right Graphic Designer for Your Small Business
Every small business needs it, but not many have it. I am not talking about cash flow, clients or even your product or services to sell.
The Very Basics of Design
Design is a very subjective thing, therefore, if you ask me how to come up with a first class design for your marketing collateral or publishing mediums, it would be very unfair for me or anyone else to tell you what is a good design and what is a bad design. But there are certain elements and principles that we should look for in a design to determine whether the design and layout of the material will be able to carry the message across effectively to the readers and your potential market.
How Brand as an Intellectual Property has Led to Corporate Globalisation?
IntroductionGlobalisation is referred to as a set of profound material changes that have an impact on relations between societies in the past few decades. The identifiable features of these material changes are witnessed in the development and growth of web, satellite transmission, fibre-optic technology, broadband operations, transnational corporations and the emergence of World Trade Organisation.
How a Great Tagline can Help your Business
"Just do it." "We try harder.
The Secrets of Starting Business Successfully
Starting Business Secrets will help you to start your own business successfully. The American Dream is, and always will be, to come up with an idea, start a business and become rich from your own efforts.
Brilliant Branding Builds Business
Branding is more than product recognition or a simple logo. It is the overall intellectual and emotional impression people have when they think of your company and its product.
Choosing the Right Color Palette
Color is a highly personal experience - everyone has favorite colors, and other colors that they absolutely don't like. So, how do you determine which colors that will work for your business identity, and that will send the right message to?We have developed several methods and approaches for determining successful color palettes.
Could Ray Kroc have founded McDonalds in the Era of Sarbaines Oxley?
Over regulation of our free markets is stifling our growth in America and killing the next superstar Entrepreneurs. Let's discuss just how bad it really is.
Brand Equity Building - Measuring Brand Value
Measuring brand equity allows a company to establish a baseline and track changes in its brand equity over time. If a company consistently works to improve the strength of its brands, it must trace progress, or risk "flying blind.
Branding Junk Removal - He Did It, Can You?
What does it mean to be remarkable?Brian Scudamore, CEO and Founder of 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, who in 1996 was operating the million dollar plus company at the age of 26, said it means, "You've got to get out there and be loud and proud..
Your Business Logo and Color Scheme
My business logo and color scheme started one lovely spring day in my office, after two years of working with words and images. I purchased some rubber stamps and played with them.