Branding your company is like building a house. You can’t paint until you have walls. The same goes for your logo. You need to define who you are marketing to so that your branding speaks to them. Perhaps your business is geared towards woman but you have a very masculine style.
Your brand should represent you, yes, but because you’ve done your research you realize that that bold, sans-serif font you originally thought you wanted for your logo may not be feminine enough to attract your ideal client.
YOUR BRANDING SHOULD SPEAK TO YOUR TARGET MARKET
So how do you define your target market? Most importantly you need to accept that you cannot market to everyone. Having to broad a market can hurt your marketing efforts. Any marketer will tell you that focusing on a clear target market will greatly increase your ROI.
Related: HOW CHOOSING 3 WORDS TO DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE CAN HELP BRAND YOUR COMPANY
So let’s focus your market. First, do you have a value proposition? (If you’ve been following our branding series posts you’re nodding yes. Knowing your value proposition is the first step in defining your target market.
Your value proposition defines your customers needs and how they will benefit from doing business with you. With that in mind target your market further by following these tips:
Tip 1: There are 3 different groups that create your target market
- The customer who will purchase from you
- The person that influences the customer to purchase from you
- Your promoter
For example, one of my graphic design services is wedding invitations. Right away you would say my ideal client is brides. Yes, that is part of my market but what about the bride’s mother?
The bride’s mother is an important demographic to add to my target market because she could persuade her daughter to buy my invitations. Then once they’ve purchased from me they become my promoters to their family and friends. It’s also important to point out that your own family and friends are part of your target market because they can help you generate business.
Tip 2: Define the people within the groups
Specifically answer at least 3 or more of the following:
- Age
- Gender
- Annual Income
- Job Description
- Hobbies
- Etc.
Let’s keep using my wedding invitations market as an example:
Purchaser – Brides
- Age: 18-35
- Gender: Female
- Annual Income: Middle class
Influencer – Mother of the Bride
- Age: 40-65
- Gender: Female
- Annual Income: Middle class
Influencer – Bridesmaids
- Age: 18-35
- Gender: Female
- Annual Income: Middle class
Supporter – My friends
- Age: 25-32
- Gender: Male or Female
- Annual Income: Middle Class
Tip 3: Pick 2-3 words to describe your groups
My target gender is women so I’d want my branding to have a feminine feel. My target age group ranges from early 20s to mid 60s so my branding will need to be timeless. And lastly, I’m appealing to the middle class therefore I want my identity to look classy but not to high-end.
My brand identity should exemplify these 3 words: feminine, timeless and classic.
Putting It All Together
So you see, you can’t just make a logo that you think looks “nice” or “is so you”. You need to create an identity that your buyers, influencers and your promoters can connect with. Take your time with this step. Then when you’re ready to begin the branding process I’ll be here to help.
Are these tips helpful? Do you have additional tips to add?