Branding is communicated consistently throughout your entire customer experience – from your business logo, your website, your Facebook posts, to the way your tradies interact with your customers.
Your branding is important because it’s how your customers recognise and remember your business. In the highly competitive trade business market, branding will help give you the advantage.
In our trade business, DR DRiP Plumbing, customers are exposed to consistent branding at every touch point. In our experience, here are 3 branding must-dos. How would you rate your branding in these areas?
1. Uniforms
Your customers will form an opinion of your business in the first 30 seconds of meeting you or a team member. Currently, what would a customer’s first impression be? Professional or amateur hour?
Wearing a branded uniform and having a clean and tidy personal appearance portrays to the customer a high regard for quality and service. It signifies a respect to business and self, and creates the perception they’ll be provided with the same consideration.
Ask yourself:
- Do my team and I portray professionalism?
- Do we wear a uniform that displays branding and reflects our brand image?
- Are uniforms free from rips, tears or ugly marks? Do shirts, shorts, socks, bag and boots all match/look good together?
- Are boots cleaned and do tradespeople have clean boot covers?
- Do we tuck in our shirts?
- Are belts a suitable colour for uniform?
2. Vehicle signage
Signage on your vehicle or fleet of vehicles is an excellent source of marketing. Vehicle signage goes a long way towards shaping people’s views of your business’s professionalism.
It is interesting to note that when we had two trucks on the road with vehicle signage, everyone thought we had four. When we had six trucks on the road with vehicle signage, everyone thought we had 12!
When you have vehicle signage, your brand presence increases exponentially. This is not because you are actually more present, but because people are noticing you time and time again.
Benefits of vehicle signage
- Demonstrates professionalism, in turn greater credibility and trust
- Strengthens brand awareness and recognition
- Increases exposure across the regions in which you service
- Long-term advertising, which promotes your business 24/7
- Inexpensive, one-off cost
- Subtle and unobtrusive mechanism of advertising
- Freshens up the vehicle and can be changed over time.
What to consider when designing vehicle signage
Space
A good rule of thumb is to (at the very least) include signage on the back as well as the left and right sides of your vehicle as these are the most visible. Spaces include side doors, tray, toolboxes, boot and bonnet.
Content
Vehicle signage is pointless unless you have the right content on it.
Here are our suggestions:
- Best contact phone number. Keep it prominent.
- Services. Include 3-5 services you wish to attract the most. List the most profitable at the top and order them down from there.
- Other benefits – You may want to highlight one benefit you can give customers. For example, if you provide service 24 hours a day 7 days a week, or a guarantee on work.
3. Photography
Studies have shown marketing material that includes an image has greater readership than material without one, and ‘real’ photographs get a much higher response.
While it’s tempting to use generic stock images to market your trade business, we strongly recommend you invest in ‘real’ photography. Remember, people buy from people.
How did you go? Have your nailed these branding must-dos?
What’s next?
- Join our Kick-Ass Tradies Facebook Group, for access to trade business specific conversations, tips and resources, plus a like-minded community of tradies.
- Book a 15-minute Game Plan Call with Andy, owner of Dr. DRiP plumbing and co-founder of Lifestyle Tradie, to clarify your priorities and get clear action steps.
