Brand Building

You may have never thought about your company, yourself or your services as a brand, so this may be new to you. If one of the main reasons your company has or wants a website is to demonstrate that you're staying up with the times, that you're on the cutting edge, then you are seeking to communicate an image about your company that will register in the minds of your visitors and potential customers. This is known as brand development, or brand building.

Your brand is the image of your business in the minds of customers and prospects. Everything about your web site - the quality of the design, the clarity of your information, the sense of interest and excitement, the colour scheme, the download time, and much more - contributes to your image, and your image is your brand identity.

Your goal is that when someone leaves your site they'll remember you - positively. And that the next time they come, they'll make a purchase or pick up the phone.

Your brand image is also the trust the customer has in you.

Your site can look every bit as good on the Web as a major corporation's, and without spending the fortune they do. Small businesses can still compete for first impression. To compete today you either need to either have graphics training and an artistic flair, or you need to hire it. Do-it-yourself will undercut the strong brand identity you are trying to build. It may be cheaper to do it yourself or to have your son do it with that wizzyy new software he's dying to use on you, but not if it means your business won't get off the ground. Design includes the colour scheme and graphics, but also structure of the site, the all-important navigation system, the size and quality of the photos or illustrations. All these affect your brand image. Your son doesn't understand brand image yet. Be very clear about this, whether you're British Telecom or a one-person small business, brand development - image - is first on your list of purposes. It is a precondition for sales since it relates directly to customer trust. Fail at this and you will fail at the core purposes of your site.