Branding Services
You can't always see it, but it's the most important part of your business.
Branding Overview
A strong brand is the foundation of any successful business. It sets you apart from competitors, builds trust with your target audience, and creates a lasting impression in the minds of your customers. OEPMA’s Branding Services are designed to help your business develop a compelling and cohesive brand identity and strategy that resonates with your audience.
We work with you to understand your business, your target audience, and what makes it unique. From there, we’ll develop a comprehensive brand strategy that encompasses all aspects of your brand, including your visual identity, messaging, and brand voice.
Whether you’re starting a new business or looking to refresh your existing brand, OEPMA can help.
Contact us today to get started.
Frequently Asked Questions About Branding
What is brand?
A brand is a powerful concept that is the sum of the associations, experiences, and perceptions an individual holds about a particular business. It is the unique identity that distinguishes one company from another in the minds of consumers. Building a strong brand takes time and should be a key consideration in all aspects of a company’s decision-making process. A brand evokes an emotional response when someone hears the name of your business. Do they smile with recognition and fondness? Do they grimace due to negative associations? Or do they ask, “Who?” because they have never encountered your company before? Your brand is the intangible yet invaluable asset that shapes how people perceive and engage with your business.
Consider the following:
- Why are BMW and Mercedes perceived as “luxury” vehicles?
- Golden Arches on a red background. If you pull up to the drive-thru and get a Number 1, what are you getting?
- Complete this: Safelite Repair. Safelite ________. What does that company do?
- When you see someone using a yellow power drill from a distance, who made that drill?
- Just Do It.
What are the elements of a brand?
Everything your business does contributes to your brand.
While your name, logo, colors, slogan, story, and mission are crucial components, branding goes deeper than that. It encompasses every interaction and touchpoint your customers have with your company. How your business answers the phone – whether begrudgingly or with overt politeness – shapes your brand. If you have a fleet of vehicles displaying your logo, the cleanliness of those vehicles impacts your brand image. If you promote “fast service” but have a slow-loading website or take days to respond to inquiries, that inconsistency affects your brand.
Over time, these experiences and interactions accumulate in people’s minds, shaping their perceptions and thoughts about your business. This is where an agency like OEPMA can help. By examining all the touchpoints and working to improve them, we can help mold your brand into a positive, cohesive identity that resonates with your target audience.
Elements to consider when building your brand include:
- Visual Identity: Logo, color palette, typography, and imagery that consistently represent your business.
- Messaging: Tone, voice, and content that align with your brand’s personality and values.
- Customer Service: How you interact with and support your customers across all channels.
- Product or Service Quality: Ensuring that your offerings meet or exceed customer expectations.
- Online Presence: Website, social media, and online reviews that reflect your brand’s identity and values.
- Physical Spaces: The design and atmosphere of your store, office, or other physical locations.
- Employee Behavior: How your staff embodies and represents your brand in their interactions with customers and each other.
By carefully curating and consistently executing these elements, you can build a strong, memorable brand that stands out in the minds of your target audience.
How can brand help me get business?
Building a strong brand creates a snowball effect that can significantly boost your business. By taking the right actions to develop your brand, you’ll set in motion a series of positive outcomes. A unique identity in the market will attract new customers, while trust and credibility will help you retain them. Satisfied customers will share their positive experiences with others, feeding more and more into the cycle of growth.
With a well-defined and authentic branding strategy, you will be able to live up to the expectations you set within the minds of your customers or clients. Consistently delivering on your brand promise through every interaction builds loyalty and makes it easier and more gratifying for them to spread the word about your business.
Can an agency just build my brand for me?
An agency can certainly help, but ultimately, they cannot “build your brand” entirely on their own. An agency can assist you with elements such as logo design, slogans, taglines, websites, print materials, and advertising – all the things that draw people into your universe. Generally, when done correctly and in concert, these elements will create a certain expectation. However, if that expectation is not met with the execution of your business, there will be a disconnect.
For example, let’s say you own an HVAC company and you embark on a new campaign to attract new customers and bring back former ones. This campaign focuses on how responsive you are to HVAC troubles in your city, emphasizing fast, 24/7 service and same-day appointments. If, when the campaign kicks off, you fumble the bag by not answering your phone, failing to respond to website submissions, or taking a week or longer to get to someone’s house, there will be a disconnect between your promise and your execution.
While agencies can help you formulate a plan and produce elements to build your brand, it’s 100% on you and your employees to back it up and ensure customers have that positive feeling about your business.
How can OEPMA help me build my brand?
OEPMA can assist with building your brand from the ground up for a new business or help tweak and sharpen the focus of an existing brand.
The process always starts by taking stock of what you have to offer and whom you’re providing it to. Ensuring that these two aspects are aligned is paramount for success. This is where brand strategy comes in – taking all the available data and knowledge and devising a plan to cut through the noise and stick out in the public’s mind, giving them an expectation of your business that you consistently meet.
On the creative side of things, we can develop your brand identity. This includes elements such as logos, wordmarks, color palettes, and anything that visually represents your company in print or digital media.
Ultimately, OEPMA helps by bringing together the strategic and creative aspects to express a unified message about your business and what it offers.
