It must be an inherent part of being human that we can’t see ourselves or our actions for how they’re truly perceived. We can have every good intention of coming across soft and welcoming, only to communicate desperation, or maybe we want to be confident and wise, but we sound condescending. It’s exhausting trying to contend with this disconnect. Especially as business owners, we can often function in a vacuumed echo chamber and begin to go crazy. We can reach a point where no matter how hard we strive to achieve X, Y, and Z goals, we keep missing the mark, and no one is telling us why. If it gets bad enough, we can even give up on our dreams altogether out of exhausted irritation.
But I don’t want to see you get to that point. You probably have all of the seeds you need to have a flourishing garden; you just need someone to help you organize everything – and that’s when a brand audit is helpful… so here are three areas you should dig into to try and diagnose what’s plaguing your business:
As a brand designer, consistency is one of the ten commandments of my work. If you don’t provide a consistent, branded world for customers to immerse themselves in, you’re hurting your business and sales. For example, let’s say you’re buying seeds for a garden. You have two stores in mind offering the same high-quality seeds (non-GMO, heirloom, all that jazz). Store ONE has a green, pink, and tan palette and a defined typography system on their social media, website, and packaging, helping you easily identify and connect with their brand. NOW, store TWO has neon yellow social media elements, muted earthy browns on their website, and the logo is always dusty red. Oh, and not to mention, they have stock illustrations on their website but 3D models on their social media. Which store would you buy from? Which store feels more invested in its business and offerings? Which store feels like a complete, thought-out experience that took time and effort? (I sure hope you said store one because then we have bigger issues than a self-guided brand audit…)
So, you know the importance of consistency. What are some ways to ensure consistency across all of your brand touchpoints? Simple: have a defined, branded color palette, typography system, and logo suite that you never deviate from. This sounds pretty easy, but this is why people hire brand designers like me. As humans, we are multifaceted; we try to cram every aspect of ourselves into our brand to ensure people grasp who we are… but this only creates a confusing soup that deters customers. So, try to focus on creating a vibe that communicates one to three things and stick to it.
Do you know how, if you are around someone long enough, you start recognizing their voice, cough, laugh, or even their key jingle? And when talking to them, you’ll probably know exactly how they’ll express frustration or joy? You know the person, their speech patterns, how they’ll react to anything and everything, and the consistency this offers is comforting and approachable. This is the same idea behind your brand voice – you want everything you put out to be instantly recognizable as yours and create a sense of connection and flow within your brand.
Now, how does one define their brand voice? First, find your archetype – this will help give a foundation for the tone of your verbal or written content. Second, know your mission and vision statement; these are like a compass, constantly reminding you of why you’re doing what you’re doing, and should always be considered when crafting website copy and media. And third, know your target audience. What topics, speech patterns, and sayings would they resonate with? If you define these three things and keep them in mind, people should be able to instantly tell that a product, brand touchpoint, or media is truly yours.
Ok, let’s be honest, this sounds scary and a bit morally grey, but there’s a good reason to look at what your competitors are doing. The biggest reason is to ensure there’s no overlap; one of the most draining things for small businesses is to compete with another brand (leave that for the big corporations). One brand will eventually try to beat out the other, which can create a lot of drama around your name. Which, hey, if you live by “all publicity is good publicity,” good for you. But for the small businesses that just want to authentically do their own thing, it’s best to establish yourself as unique and authentic.
So, how do you do competitor analysis? First, search for other brands in your industry, particularly ones with similar vibes, missions, etc. Next, break down their visuals and offerings. Obviously, if you’re in the same industry, there will be overlap, but if more than 50% of your brand identity sounds, feels, or looks like theirs… it’s time to make significant adjustments to your branded visuals and strategy.
Ok, this is daunting even for me, but hear me out. How will you know how people see your business if you never ask? After launching my brand’s 2.0 version, I got a lot of compliments from customers saying they felt like the new look aligned with my vibe far better than before. Yet, they didn’t know that while creating it, it ever felt “authentic” enough, but they helped me see I didn’t need my brand to capture every piece of who I am; it just needed to be a cohesive, crafted backdrop. So, just ask and start a dialogue. And if that doesn’t work (or it just scares you too much), reach out to a professional brand designer and see if they offer a brand audit. Professional input will help clear your vision, allowing you to see the whole picture and thrive.
If you found this helpful but still feel overwhelmed and want tailored insight and guidance, you can schedule a private brand audit here! Or, if you want to start a conversation, DM me on Instagram!
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