Branding the road to success

Branding your business is the cornerstone to its success. Without a clear brand name, logo and overall look & feel—  how will anybody recall or recognise your trade business?

Forbes Magazine in their article “Why brand building is important” notes: “Branding is fundamental. Branding is basic. Branding is essential. Building brands builds incredible value for companies.”

So consider our four steps to branding your business, to ensure your company puts its best foot forward with every customer.

STEP 1:

What type of business do you want to own? They always say “dress for the job you want, not the job you have” and that rings true when branding your business.

For instance, if your avatar [ideal client] is up-market, ensure your branding lives up to their expectations and has an expensive overall look and feel to meet this expectation.

This is the foundation of how you’ll build out your branding look & feel. It’s not solely based on what YOU want but should reflect what your ideal customer is looking for.

STEP 2:

Pick a colour scheme that stands out.

Take a look at your competition, see what colour pallets they are using to brand their business. AND THEN DO THE OPPOSITE!

You want to ensure your branding is clearly differentiated from theirs. Pick a different colour theme, one that stands out or you feel accurately represents your overall brands look and feel.

Use this same ideology for creating your logo and brand name. Ensure it’s different from your competition, aligns with what your customers are looking for and feels right for you.

For more information about how to keep an eye on your competitors, read on HERE.

STEP 3:

Consider your touchpoints — where and how customers will interact with your brand.

When branding your business, you need these points to be consistent. So that colour pallete you chose, should be reflected on your website, social media uniforms, marketing materials, truck signage and any other touchpoints your customer will interact with.

Your brand name and logo should also be clearly marked across these platforms too. Bigger isn’t always better, and just slapping your brand name across everything can look tacky, so be considerate with its placement. For more marketing tactics for your trade business, check out our Lifestyle Tradie Live event HERE.

STEP 4:

Your employees are brand ambassadors.

When they are wearing your uniform, driving your branded truck and onsite with your clients, they are a direct reflection of your business. Therefore how they conduct themselves will impact how the customer perceives your brand and is critical to consider.

As the business leader, you need to set the example of how your tradies should act.

At Dr DRiP the team ALWAYS puts on clean boot covers before entering a customers house and lay their tools out on a Tidy Tradie mat before starting work. This immediately shows customers that we are a highly professional and respectful company, as we are striving to ensure we keep their house in pristine condition.

At the end of the day, YOU as the business owner have total control over how you want your business to be perceived in the eyes of your customers. It can seem daunting, and it’s tempting to play it safe, but the best brands are the ones that stand out and take a firm position.

So take a step back, and critically examine your trade business. How consistent is your branding, and are you dressed for the business you WANT or the business you HAVE?

What’s next?

  1. Join our Kick-Ass Tradies Facebook Group, for access to trade business specific conversations, tips and resources, plus a like-minded community of tradies.
  2. Book a Strategy Session with Andy, owner of Dr. DRiP plumbing and co-founder of Lifestyle Tradie, to clarify your priorities and get clear action steps on where to take your business in 2021.
  3. Check out our upcoming live events HERE to find an event near you! These events are jammed packed with insider tradie knowledge that YOU need to know in order to build a strong, successful trade business.