Where to start with your brand?

By Daniel Wolfe

This may appear to be pretty self-explanatory but you´d be surprised at how some business owners get the hiearchy wrong. There is a recommended way in which you should order the design of your materials, and it should be paid as much attention as to the quality of the work you want from them. Your marketing materials should be designed according to the relevance to your business but usually there is a standard order that works best for most if not all industries.

First, get your story straight. Although not required, some people get a clear sense of things once they write them down, so go ahead and do it if you learn better through paper. You´ll want to define the story and goal of your business, what you sell or provide and who your customers are. Having this straightened out you will have a clear direction you want your marketing materials to go. You probably already know most of this step, even if it´s just in your head.

This is probably one of the most important steps, your logo. The first piece in the creative process, this is where you´d want someone to take over to create you a good logo, don´t be cheap and hire a designer. Your logo goes in all of your marketing materials, and as such it should be the first creative piece to be designed. There´s no way you´d want to design a letterhead or a business card and then come back to the logo. Designing the logo first will create a set of visual rules of which all your marketing materials can follow, so that the visual message is consistent across several mediums.

Next, your business card. The logo will not do anything by itself in a piece of paper or within your computer as a file. Getting your business card done will be the first practical use of the logo. With the business card done and ready you´re able to hand it over to your customers or potential audience coming in your door and at networking events. If in small quantities at first, print them yourself with a good printer or have them digitally printed, which is often more versatile if you don´t want to go to your local printer as they would require you to print large amounts of cards for it to be cost effective.

Your next step now could be a letterhead. Not everyone need a letterhead, but there are some advantages to it. If you do need a letterhead, think how you will be using it, if you would have them preprinted so you can have them and use them when needed, or as a file in your computer so you can print them on demand. You can save it in Microsoft Word or Open Office.

A website is also something you should consider. A decade or so ago a lot of business owners already realized it was important to have a website but it wasn´t really their priority. These days it is. A website is a good way to organize your ideas and business literature because there´s not a whole room to add in filler as people often get distracted on the internet. You need to provide users with something they want to read, something short and concise so they can get their answers quickly. It´s a good way to be able to provide them with answers around the clock as a website doesn´t sleep. And if you have your website optimized with the search engines, then it doubles its function as another possible source of revenue.

You could also make use of other printed materials like brochures, package design etc. How much of them you´ll need of each will depend on your market, that´s why they´re last. If you´re going to have them designed, keep the design consisted with your logo and your other marketing materials. If you create something that people want to read and want to keep, it ends up being helpful and benefit to both of you.

Follow this hierarchy to get the most out of the brand you´ll build for your business. Remember that the logo is the most important piece.

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