Don’t Focus on Brand Identity if Your Biggest Challenge is Growth
When your existing business heads in new marketing directions, it’s tempting to focus on what your brand looks like…your brand identity … which is plastered on everything from your business cards to your signage, website, swag and collateral. (And OMG… EVERYONE has an opinion about what the brand identity should be… from the CEO to the part time intern!) But, unless you’ve got buckets of money and unstoppable growth, leave the look and feel alone until your marketing strategies are a mature, growth-driving engine.
Your logo isn’t a growth lever.
Several companies I know recently updated their logos. Gotta say...my head’s going a little sideways. I happen to know these firms are looking for growth - and none of them have marketing plans in place. (Yikes!) So why start with the logo? None of the brand identities were bad. None of the companies have changed focus, company name or have gone through a merger/acquisition. So, I’m left puzzled at the choice to update the logo ….because a logo isn’t a growth lever.
Web design isn’t a growth lever.
You might be sick of your website. But changing it just because some company exec (usually a new marketing leader) wants it to look different is an expensive exercise and a bad idea.
To be clear, your website should make it rain inbound leads (which is measurable and forecastable.) Your website should aid in the consideration phase of the buyer journey solidifying credibility and providing educational resources. And, your website can be used to create a great customer experience. But, if you’re not clear about how your website is used across your entire customer journey, updating it won’t do you any good! Worse, you’ll invest a lot of money and still miss out on the whole growth thing. And, you might wreck your SEO in the process - actually damaging your growth.
Business cards aren’t a growth lever.
Another piece of brand identity companies tend to randomly update is business cards. I agree, they should be sharp and as memorable as possible. Some argue that no one uses business cards anymore. But, in my experience that’s not really true for executives and customer facing team members. I’m frequently asked, “Do you have a card?” I’m sure it happens to you, too. When it does, do you want to hand over a sad, cheapo card that looks like it was designed in the 90s? Or one with polish and sizzle that represents the excellence you bring to your space? I vote for the latter. Still, business cards aren’t a growth lever.
Changing brand identity is a capital expense.
You might very well need a fresh logo, business cards or a fresh website. But, it’s not a marketing tactic and in itself, the changes won’t drive growth. Every budget dollar you spend to update your identity is a capital expense. And make no mistake. Changes are expensive. Personally, I’ve never worked for an SMB so flush with funds that they could afford cosmetic-only investments. Quite the contrary. They’ve all needed more leads, more closed deals, and more revenue.
Think of it this way… would you rather run a $30,000 multi-channel campaign that produces guaranteed, qualified leads in a new market and assets that can be repurposed in inbound and outbound campaigns over the next year… or spend it on a new logo, fresh colors, and new photos on your website? Assuming you’re not getting identity work done for free, the investment will be about the same. As a marketing leader, I’d rather use my budget on responsible tactics that have a chance of driving growth than to update colors, photos and fonts.
Don’t put lipstick on a pig.
It’s not that I object to updating identity. Who doesn’t love pretty new logos and websites? I object to updating brand identity in lieu of focusing on performance. It’s like putting lipstick on a pig. Conversely, with good marketing leadership, your focus will be on a marketing plan that supports your goals for the next two quarters and as far out as three years. It’s possible that a logo update (+ website, + business cards) could make sense in the vision. But not at the cost of other, more valuable moves. Make sure you put first things first.
Focus first on deeply understanding:
Business & Revenue Goals - which become targets
KPIs - which become a scoreboard that indicate whether you’re winning or losing
Strategies - that move the needle toward reaching the goals
Channels - the role each plays in the strategic plan
Opportunities - for new products and markets
Playbooks - how all the channels work together with marketing tactics that drive growth