The Branding Guide for Direct to Consumer Brands
The pre-Internet life of a small retail brand was hard work. If you weren’t on supermarket shelves or in department stores, forget about your company making any sort of profit.
Business was dictated by the distributors.
However, business today is different. With easy access to the internet and accessibility to millions of customers at the click of a button, producers are also now their own distributors.
A new kind of company is emerging - brands that produce, pack, distribute and ship their own products. All without sharing their margins. Direct to Consumer (DTC) brands are on the rise, especially within a world dictated by social media. Digital platforms and tools, such as Instagram, are empowering brands to broaden their customer reach – driving increased revenue streams, profits, and financial performance.
For a company that produces their products in their own facility, as well as dealing with distribution within their own channels, branding is extremely important. DTC brands fully own the relationship with their customers. By selling directly to them, they can receive incredibly valuable customer data. They know exactly what sells and what doesn’t and it’s easy to engage in authentic ways with their most valued customers.
There is fierce competition in the online space with retail giants such as Amazon leading the way. But what makes many DTC brands stand out is their personality, their ability to connect with customers and create tailored and personalized products for a specific niche of people.
Branding is key in customer connection and retainment.
A successful branding strategy requires planning… and lots of it! You need to know who you are selling to, and most importantly, why. You want your branding to attract attention and be intentional.
How do you want your ideal customer to feel when they look at your website? At your packaging? At a post on your social media?
Branding defines both the visual aspects, such as colors, your logo, the fonts, and the type of imagery your use but also your brand’s values, mission, purpose, and goals.
All of this, when combined, formulates your Brand Identity.
The first question to ask yourself when considering your branding is:
What perceived problem am I solving?
What service or product does your brand create and how does it help people? You need to know why people would choose you over a competitor. You can then begin to tie this in with your branding.
If you are selling something that no one else is selling, or if you have a unique way of producing your products for example, you will need to educate your audiences as to why they need your products or services.
Building trust is key. How does your customer feel before buying your product and how will they feel after?
They won’t buy from a brand they don’t trust, especially if it’s a product they have never heard of!
Follow up questions to consider when building your brand include:
Who is your target audience?
Where are they from?
What other brands do they love?
You want to know your ideal customer inside out before beginning your branding design. You need to know who you are creating for else you risk creating a brand that fades into the background.
The way you stand out is by targeting specific niches. Don’t try to please everyone and get specific on your audience!
Who do you desire to sell to?
Learn more on “How to Attract Your Dream Clients”.
Who are your competitors?
Are there other brands selling a similar product? If so, what is working for them? Take time to research your competition, learn from what appears to be working (and also, what doesn’t!). You can then begin to understand why and how your brand is different. This will formulate the foundation of your branding.
Once you have an understanding of who your brand serves, you can begin to get creative!
Define your visual branding elements
Your visual branding is an extension of the above.
Your branding design, consisting of:
Logo/s
Fonts
Color palette
Taglines
Shapes/ Graphic elements
Imagery
Your branding design is for your customer, each aspect needs a reason behind it. It’s not enough to simply like a color and font anymore. Your brand needs to tell a story. Create a brand kit with meaning and intention.
Knowing your brand’s identity is vital when deciding on your visual elements.
All these elements help to bring your brand’s mission to life and create a strong visual effect that reinforces your message..
Ask yourself the following questions:
How do my brand colors/logo make me feel?
How would I want my customers to feel when they view my website?
How will I connect with my audience through my visual branding?
Your colors have the real power to ignite emotion and feeling. This is why knowing your target audience is important. Warm colors can evoke relaxation and a sense of wellbeing, whereas bright colors can create an energetic feel and be great for younger audiences. Create your brand colors and be consistent with them, don’t overdo it. Select 3-5 colors and no more.Same for the fonts and design elements. Consistency is key, the more people see your brand, the more they will begin to remember it, so choose something that you will stick too! You don’t want to be rebranding every 6 months.
Step into your customers’ shoes when creating your branding design.
Being a DTC brand means the customer experience gets to be better from start to finish. From the moment they see your visual branding, to clicking that purchase button - your customer gets to go on a journey.
Think of your brand as the entire journey you’re taking your customers on!
That journey is up to you, and your branding will help get you there.
Do you need help creating a powerful, aligned, and remarkable brand? Click here to schedule a Complimentary Brand Consultation. We can’t wait to hear about your brand, your mission, and your offers!
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