Your professional platform is the springboard for your business. You don’t just want any platform; you want to create a Leveled-Up platform. This is a platform where your branding and design resonate with your ideal client.
Welcome to part 3 of the Level Up Series. In the last article, we went over creating a transformative signature program. Today, we’ll tackle your professional platform.
What do you think of when you hear branding design? Most of us think of a standout logo. But design doesn’t automatically mean a logo. Whether you have a logo or not, the most important thing is consistency. Your platform and presentation need to be consistent and identifiable. The purpose of branding design is to resonate, to speak to, your ideal client. And that is done best through consistency.
Let’s dig deeper.
What makes a Leveled Up Professional Platform?
*A well-designed website
Your website is your electronic business card. It’s your opportunity to make the best first impression.
As outlined in the Visual Identity piece of the Lane Jones Branding Framework, when someone lands on your website, you have just seconds to make the right impression. If you don’t, they’ll leave. And design is a major component of that first impression.
*Consistent digital and print marketing material
Does your marketing material match? Everything from using one specific color palette to fonts and styling. Your material needs to be designed with the intention to resonate with your target client. You accomplish this by having material that is identifiable and consistent. What material should be on point with your brand?
Here’s a list of the most common:
-Flyers
-Brochures
-Business Cards
-Stationary
-Social Media Images
-Photos
-Blog Posts
-Email Templates
-Basically, everything!
Have you noticed the two common threads throughout each of the components above?
Good design
Consistency
Good design and consistency = Customer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE)
If you haven’t heard of Customer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE), welcome to a powerful branding concept based on the Brand Resonance Pyramid. This is a branding model that, if followed, creates a strong business brand.
Here’s the layout of the model in steps, from the base upward:
Step 1 Salience – Identity. Who are you?
Create brand salience or awareness. This is about making sure your brand stands out from the crowd, so your ideal client recognizes it.
Step 2 Brand Meaning. What are you?
This step is about communicating the meaning of your brand. You do this first by having a clear brand performance, the means by which your product meets the needs of customers.
Secondly, you communicate meaning through brand imagery. This is about the social and psychological needs your product meets for your client. It’s about the experience your client has with your product.
Step 3 Judgements & Feelings – Response. What about you?
In this step, you want to understand your client’s response. It’s about how they feel about and judge your brand. Every brand elicits a response. Your goal is to intentional influence this response, so your ideal client feels clear about your brand and relates to your business.
Step 4 Resonance – Relationships. What about you and me?
This step is the top of the Brand Resonance Pyramid. It’s your ultimate branding goal. When accomplished, your customers feel a deep connection with your brand and business.
To get here, you strengthen all the previous steps and then add extra touches. Examples are reward programs, loyalty incentives, and initiatives that engage and involve clients.
It’s most useful if you think of the CBBE as steps to strengthen your brand, not just a model to admire. It’s an active, ongoing process to move your brand from a basic level of product creation to the pinnacle of client resonance.
Polish your brand platform
So now you have good design in place, matching marketing material, and a strong brand based around the Brand Resonance Pyramid. You get super bonus points for adhering to branding archetypes (more about archetypes coming up in this series).
You can also add finishing touches like mailing custom note cards or handwritten notes to your clients and customers. These little, extra steps have a big impact. They’re the ultimate finishing touches that polish your brand in your customers’ eyes.
Your goal is to create a platform and consistent experience that centers around your patrons and resonates well with them. Do this, and you’ll stand out, be remembered, and most of all appreciated.