Tag Archives: branding

by | May 11, 2013 · 12:33 pm

5 easy ways to build your businesses brand

your brand, the promise, product, personality and perception, typographic printBranding is often perceived as a bit of a dark art by business owners. But it needn’t be; there are a number of small things you can tweak to improve the effectiveness of your brand. Grab a notepad and pen (and a glass of something nice, if it’s that sort of time), and jot down these 5 thing you can do right now to make your brand work harder for you:

1) Have a chat with your best customers 

We all have those favourite clients – they may be the ones that you work with the most, the people who’s values echo yours, the ones who shout about your business the loudest and those who truly value what you do. Wouldn’t it be lovely if all your clients were like them? Attracting more of those clients is easy – first, you need to understand what it is that they value the most about your business so you can steer your brand in a direction that resonates with those people.

2) Don’t be afraid to think big 

You may only be a team of 2 now, but what’s your game plan for next year? Or the year after? Your business deserves a brand you can grow into, so it pays to know where you’re heading.

3) Know your bestsellers 

If you offer several services, or a range of products, is there one element in particular that nets you the most profit? If so, you probably want to be known as the go-to provider for whatever that is. Jot down your bestsellers and ask yourself if your brand really reflects the things you want to be known for.

4) Make your moments of truth as good as they can be 

In brand speak, a moment of truth (or touch point, depending on your choice of words) relates to any interaction that a customer has with your business. This may be in the form of a phonecall, email enquiry, face to face conversation, visit to your website or blog or even an interaction on social media. Does every interaction reflect you in the best light? A while ago, I phoned a local high-end hairdresser to book an appointment. The phone was answered by a bored-sounding receptionist (who was chewing on gum while she spoke to me), who clearly didn’t want to know. Given the salon’s image, I would expect a polite, courteous and efficient service to back up their slick look. Needless to say, the reality rocked my view of the brand and I went elsewhere. Don’t let the same happen to you – your moments of truth are one of the easiest and cheapest things you can control.

5) Own your niche 

I say this so often, I feel as though I ought to have it tattooed on me somewhere. In a competitive marketplace, it’s essential to know what makes your business stand out from the rest. Do you offer a product which no-one else sells? Perhaps your customer experience is unique? Maybe the way you do business sets you apart? The things that make you unique are the golden elements of your business that mean customers buy from you and not your competitor. As a sense check, list your competitors to be sure that your niche is truly unique to you. And when you’ve hit upon your niche, you need to shout about it, as loud and as often as you can.

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by | April 26, 2013 · 9:38 am

New in This Week: The finished brand identity and logo design for The FD Studio

The FD Studio, financial, logo design, business card designMy last blog post was dedicated to the Mood Board for The FD Studio branding, where we mapped out the values, ambitions and dreams for Mike Rowe’s new business. I’m pleased to reveal the finished product!

A bright, punchy orange is the first thing you notice about this brand. A creative, sociable and vibrant colour (remember my blog post about the psychological properties of orange?), it matches Mike’s business personality perfectly. It’s an unexpected colour for a financial company, who tend to favour more conservative colours. The elegant font (Museo, for you font geeks out there) balances the playfulness of the orange, adding a touch of authority and credibility. We’ve bought energy and life to Mike’s business card design, with colour flowing through the strap line providing beautiful movement and interest. The impact this has on the design is just gorgeous, isn’t it?!

The FD Studio, financial, logo design, business card design, sevenoaks

The FD Studio, financial, logo design, business card design, sevenoaks, branding

What Mike says:

‘From the first moment I met Hannah, Derek and Dan I was made to feel valued, welcome and special. They brought a creativity and enthusiasm to my branding project that both impressed and inspired me. I had a vague idea of how I wanted my business to be portrayed, but Hannah took me on a creative journey that allowed me to understand my core values, ideals and aspirations. I believe that this experience unearthed my true feelings about my business and how I would like to help my customers. I feel that everything I represent is enshrined in the branding, the logo and design work and it has given me a confidence in my identity, my brand and my business. With the ditto team behind me I truly believe that I can leap tall buildings with a single bound.’

I’d like to note that these words were entirely unprompted from Mike – when I asked him if he’d give us some feedback, with a view to using it on the blog and on our website, I never imagined that we’d receive such heartfelt words. Thank you, Mike – clients like you make our job a genuine joy.

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by | · 9:37 am

In the press: Business profile for Knockout Print

Hannah Griffin, Branding, Sevenoaks, Ditto, Kent & Sussex Courier

If you’ve picked up the Kent & Sussex Courier this week, you may well have spied me on the business pages again! Every month their panel of experts from the branding, financial and legal professions (including yours truly) are given a profile of a business to review. This month, we were asked to review a local print company. Do take a look!

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by | April 12, 2013 · 9:02 am

An exciting new collaboration for Ditto and …Happen

An idea can turn to dust or magic, typographic print by Dan at DittoI’m really pleased to announce that the lovely team at …Happen Web Technologies have moved in to our London Road studio! This move cements the close partnership between Happen and Ditto, enabling both companies to provide a full and complete branding, marketing and development service as one cohesive team. We’re already working together on multiple projects for the ultimate benefit of our clients, which I’m very much looking forward to sharing with you soon.

Do pop in to see us – we’d love to show you around our brand new meeting room and have a chat to find out how we can help take your business to the next level.

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by | February 15, 2013 · 5:02 pm

Your brand: The promise, the personality, the product, the perception

your brand, the promise, product, personality and perception, typographic printBranding can be easily dealt with in 4 distinct categories

Branding’s really just about 4 components: the promise, the personality, the product and the perception. I’m currently writing my next contribution for the Kent & Sussex Courier’s business pages, which I contribute to monthly as their branding expert, and I’ve been struck that the business I’ve been asked to comment about has a great product, but seems to fall down on the other 3 crucial components. The problem is that a product can be absolutely amazing, but without careful consideration to map out the brand identity, there’s no personality to what’s being delivered and the perception is unlikely to be right. And that means that your brand will fail to engage with the right people, and growing your business will be a hit-and-miss struggle.

So, your homework for the weekend: take a piece of A4 paper, divide it into 4 and jot down some bullet points for each of the 4 P’s of your brand. What is it you deliver? What promises do you make? What personality does your brand have – and what perception do you want clients and prospects to have?

Image credit: Typographic print by our very own Dan at Ditto, taken from our branding e-book (download your free copy by clicking here)

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by | January 18, 2013 · 2:10 pm

New in This Week: Brand & logo design for WAGS Dog Grooming

Introducing WAGS Dog Grooming

WAGS is a brand new business, set to open in Sevenoaks in the next few weeks. Run by the lovely Emily, WAGS will be pampering the town’s pooches with her fabulous wash and groom service. Emily asked us to help create the look and feel of WAGS having been recommended to talk to us by one of our other clients, and it’s been a pleasure to work with her.

The brief

Emily had a very clear idea of what sort of look she wanted, which gave us a head-start. The brief was to incorporate a clean, modern San-serif font with a feminine script font. This is a classic combination which can work beautifully, but requires a thoughtful approach to team up the right fonts. The first two concepts we created are very much to brief, but we couldn’t resist trying something different for the third concept.

The initial concepts

Concept 1

WAGS Dog Grooming Logo Design,

Concept 2

WAGS Dog Grooming Logo2

Concept 3

WAGS Dog Grooming Sevenoaks Logo3

To complement the logo device, Dan crafted these beautiful patterned backgrounds to add depth to the brand. A pattern can be a very handy brand device to have as part of your brand manual, and can be used on websites, social media backgrounds, on business cards and even as part of your interior design to help create a branded look throughout your entire business.

WAGS patterns

We’re currently working with Emily to develop the initial concepts – I’ll be sharing more on this branding project with you soon!

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by | December 7, 2012 · 1:27 pm

The Ditto Method to Building a Brand that Sells – download your FREE branding e-book

The Ditto Method to building a brand that sells, branding e-book for small businessesThe Ditto Method to Building a Brand that Sells has been a long time in the making – but I’m really excited to tell you that it is finally ready!

Our first e-book has been built around you, our clients: small to medium sized businesses. Packed with inspirations and tips for start-up businesses to create their brand, as well as plenty of ideas to help established businesses give their brand a boost, our e-book contains 7 bite-size steps to building a powerful, unique and profitable brand. The e-book will guide you through the basics of building an engaging brand, from pinpointing your niche in the market to mapping out your customers’ experience when they buy from you to make sure that every single interaction is as good as it can be.

So go on, give yourself a break from writing Christmas Cards and playing with fairy lights to take a few minutes out (with a mince pie, if you really can’t resist), and take the first step towards building a more profitable brand for the new year.

To claim your free copy of our e-book, click here.

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by | November 29, 2012 · 10:18 am

Inspired by: Typographic Prints

Dan is currently working on some really beautiful typographic prints, which will feature in our branding e-book (which will be available very shortly, I promise!). While he beavers away crafting some stunning designs, I’d like to share with you some of my favourite typographic prints which have provided bags of inspiration.

All images from various sources via my Pinterest account

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by | November 27, 2012 · 4:42 pm

Time to plan for 2013

Unbelievably, we’re hurtling at break-neck speed towards the end of another year.

And while some people are scratching their heads and half-heartedly writing the Christmas to-do list while wondering whether or not it’s too early to break out the mince pies, savvy business owners are starting to plan their marketing activity for 2013. While it can be tempting to leave planning for next year until the Christmas break – or, worse, leave it until 2013 – now is really the time to start to commit to some business building actions for the new year. To make the process just a little bit easier, here are my top 5 tips for planning your new year marketing strategy. So put the kettle on, grab a couple of biscuits (or a mince pie, if you really can’t resist), and get planning…

1) Review your year

How was 2012 for you? Jot down your key marketing activities and review them one by one. Perhaps you joined a new networking group, commissioned a new brochure or carried out an advertising campaign. What was the yield, or return, of each of these? Is there something you need to change or tweak for next year?

2) Review your brand

At Ditto, this is an annual exercise. We carry out a vigorous audit of what we’ve been up to, and what sorts of clients we’re attracting. I recommend you do the same. What sort of clients are you winning? Are they bringing you the type of work you want, or do you need to revisit your brand strategy in order to attract a different demographic?

3) Think big

If nothing stood in your way, what sort of marketing activities would you love to carry out? Jot down a list of 5 activities you’d love to be able to do (budget and logistics aside). Perhaps you’d like to relaunch your website, start speaking at conferences or start advertising in a trade magazine. They don’t have to be instantly achievable, but simply putting the thought out there will make it more likely to happen – at the very least, it’ll get you thinking creatively.

4) Set a realistic budget

As a general rule, if you want to grow your business, you’ll need to invest a little more in marketing spend than you did last year. Get your accountant involved to agree a realistic and affordable figure, and stick to it. I recommend setting aside a monthly marketing budget which you can dedicate to whatever you choose. Remember that marketing should be an investment, not a spend, and that your budget should be yielding a decent return for you. If it’s not, you may need to review your activity.

5) Plan and diarise

Don’t get caught in the trap of letting your marketing become a rushed, knee-jerk reaction to being offered a low cost last minute space at an exhibition. Trust me, you won’t get the most from your spend if all of your marketing is carried out in this way! By diarising and committing to a plan you’ll be much more likely to make everything happen.

What have you got planned for 2013?
Image credit: Made by Morris via notonthehighstreet.com

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by | May 24, 2012 · 9:16 am

Can branding really make a difference to income?

As a director of a company dedicated to helping businesses improve their brand identity, of course I’d say yes. But here’s why: branding is built around your unique promise to your customers (hint: make sure it’s a promise that you can fulfil every time – and that it’s one which really matters to your customers).  Without proper thought or planning to your brand, you’re generic. You’re destined to compete on price alone. You may well turn a profit, but you won’t have built any loyalty, and are unlikely to have won any strong ambassadors in your customers – because those who buy on price alone are fickle and will be easily swayed by the next cheapest offering. And when you’re competing on price, they’ll always be someone who comes along and undercuts you. When you look at it in these stark terms, building a successful brand is essential to engage and win new clients.

Consumers need direction.

With a choice of two companies in front of them, both of which have a similar price positioning and identical product or service, I can guarantee they’ll choose the one that the recognise (think of Apple versus an unknown technology brand – Apple will always win the sale!). It’s just human nature. Successful branding builds familiarity. Strong branding identifies the needs of a given market, and is built upon a promise which really matters to their customers. In turn, this builds trust as consumers feel as though their chosen company really ‘gets’ their problems. Trust inevitably equates to a purchase. So I urge you to think about what it is that you promise to your clients – make sure it’s something that really matters, and ensure you communicate it consistently.

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