How To Improve Your Brand: From Faceless Business To Brilliant Brand
Most advice on how to improve your brand starts in the wrong place. It leads with logos. With colour palettes. With font choices. At Huddle, after working with B2B brands across law, finance, and property for nearly two decades, we've learned that a strong brand starts somewhere far less visible: what do you actually stand for, and why should anyone care?
Brand consistency alone increases revenue by an average of 33%, according to Lucidpress research. But that number is meaningless if the brand being consistently applied says nothing that matters. This guide won't just show you how to improve your brand's appearance. It will show you how to make it worth remembering.
In today's world, where competition is fierce and customers are spoilt for choice, it is important for businesses to differentiate themselves from their competitors.
One way to do this is by improving their brand. A strong brand not only helps to establish brand recognition but also enables businesses to create an emotional connection with their customers.
The truth is, customers are more likely to choose a brand that they recognize and trust. Additionally, a strong brand helps to increase customer loyalty and retention, which, in turn, can lead to increased revenue and profitability for the business.
This article provides both an overview and a step-by-step guide on how to improve your brand. By following these steps, businesses can transform their brand, establish themselves as a strong brand in the market and gain a true competitive edge.
Is Your Business Faceless?
If a business is lacking a unique identity, it may be considered faceless. A faceless business lacks a recognizable brand that customers can identify and connect with, making it difficult for the business to stand out in the market.
Consider this: your new business is just starting to get customers. However, you don’t have a logo or any other recognizable features that will help people recognize your business.
Without an identifying logo, brand voice, and core brand story to create an emotional connection with your audience, it can be difficult to differentiate yourself from your competitors and make a memorable impression on potential customers.
You may get the odd sale here and there, but nobody is coming back for more or telling their friends about your business.
So, if you haven't tackled any of this yet, we're sorry to say, your business may be faceless. Don't worry though - all hope isn't lost! You can still turn things around with the right strategy and some hard work.
What Faceless Really Costs You
Being faceless isn't just a branding problem - it's a revenue problem. An Edelman Trust Barometer study found that 88% of consumers say trust is a deciding factor when choosing which brands to buy from or support. Without a recognisable identity that builds that trust, businesses are left competing on price alone - a race to the bottom that no brand wins long-term.
The real cost of facelessness shows up in your sales cycle. When a prospect Googles your competitors before making a decision, a strong brand is the difference between being the obvious choice and being the also-ran on a shortlist of three.
At Huddle, we see this constantly - financial services firms, law practices, digital consultancies doing genuinely exceptional work, but presenting to the world as if they could be anyone. The work we do to change that isn't cosmetic. It's strategic.
What Makes a Brilliant Brand?
A brilliant brand is not just a successful business. It is a brand that has established an emotional connection with its customers through strong brand recognition. A brand that communicates its values and resonates with its target audience.
A brilliant brand doesn't just sell. Through greater brand recognition, it turns new and existing customers into loyal customers that stick around.
See how Huddle helped Newcore Capital Management improve its brand.
How To Improve Your Brand in 7 Steps
Take it from us - with the right brand strategy framework and some hard work, you can turn your faceless business into a brilliant brand in no time!
Step 1: Trust the experts
A professional branding agency is an invaluable resource that can help you define your brand, identify target audiences, and craft a cohesive story, before designing and implementing your new brand identity.
One example is VibeIQ - a SaaS platform for retail intelligence. Before working with Huddle, VibeIQ had a brand that looked like a startup still figuring out what it was. The visual language was inconsistent, messaging led with features rather than outcomes, and the website failed to communicate the market authority the product had already earned.
Huddle's approach began not with design, but with positioning.
We identified VibeIQ's core audience - enterprise retail teams who needed to prove ROI on visual merchandising decisions - and built everything that followed around what that audience needed to feel before they could trust the product enough to buy it.
The result: a brand that positions VibeIQ as the industry leader it already was, with a clear, confident visual and written identity and style guidelines that give their team a solid foundation for growth.
If your business is currently faceless, a branding agency like Huddle is your go-to first step. Brief us today to get started.
Step 2: Identify your brand's values
When building a strong brand, one of the first steps is to identify your brand's values. Brand values are the core principles and beliefs that define your brand and will guide all other aspects of your brand strategy.
To identify your brand's values, you need to understand your business's mission, vision, and purpose. You can then analyze your competition and determine what sets your brand apart, with a clear brand value proposition an essential foundation for a strong brand strategy.
Not sure where to start? Check out these brand values examples for some inspiration!
Step 3: Analyze your target audience
Knowing your target audience is important to develop a strong brand that resonates with your customers. Conducting target audience analysis allows you to understand your customers needs, preferences, and pain points.
To conduct a target audience analysis, you need to gather demographic and psychographic information about your customers. This information can be collected through surveys, focus groups, and social media listening.
For example, Nike's brand strategy of targeting and empowering athletes as an audience has helped the company establish itself as a leading sports brand.
Step 4: Develop a branding strategy
One core element of brand building is developing a comprehensive branding strategy. A solid brand strategy will provide guidelines for all aspects of your brand, from the design of your logo and website to how you communicate with customers.
Developing a cohesive story that resonates with target audiences is key and should be the core focus of your brand strategy.
One great example of a business improving its brand strategy is the digital solutions company Future Platforms. With over 20 years of experience and an impressive client portfolio, Future Platforms had a problem their brand wasn't solving: they looked like generalists. Their website and messaging positioned them as technically capable but undifferentiated in a market where every digital agency makes the same claims.
Huddle rebuilt their brand strategy around their actual differentiators - longevity, delivery track record, and sector expertise - and updated the visual identity and website to match. The outcome was a brand that finally communicated the authority Future Platforms had quietly built over two decades: maximum impact on digital channels, increased market presence, and a brand capable of attracting the calibre of clients their work deserves.
Want results like these? Brief us today to get started.
Step 5: Create a unique visual identity
Dropbox and Collins: Dropbox rebrand (Copyright © Dropbox, 2017)
A consistent visual identity is essential for building a strong brand. A unique visual identity helps customers identify your brand and distinguish it from competitors.
To create a unique visual identity, you need to consider elements such as logo design, colour scheme, typography, and imagery. It is important to ensure consistency in all visual elements to establish a strong brand identity.
One great B2B brand identity example is Dropbox. In 2017, Dropbox partnered with design studio Collins for a complete rebranding - the biggest visual identity transformation since the company's founding. The rebrand introduced Sharp Grotesk typography, vibrant illustrations, and a cleaner, simpler logo icon.
Step 6: Leverage digital channels
Digital channels, including social media, can be used to improve brand value, increase brand awareness, and drive brand recognition. It is essential for businesses to leverage digital channels to build a strong online presence.
Take the example of LD Communications, the leading events sector UK PR and communications agency.
The branding experts at Huddle created a bespoke website design that reflected the company's high-end position, redesigned the UX and UI to highlight its premium quality, and integrated new icons - keeping all aspects of the brand identity consistent throughout.
Now, the LD Communications website serves as a captivating and educational digital channel for both their existing and prospective partners - fully aligned with the brand's original vision.
Step 7: Build a community around your brand
Building a community around your brand can improve brand value and create a loyal customer base. A strong brand community allows customers to feel connected to your brand's values and purpose.
As HBR states: People participate in communities for a wide variety of reasons - to find emotional support and encouragement, to explore ways to contribute to the greater good, and to cultivate interests and skills. For members, brand communities are a means to an end, not an end in themselves.
Closing Thoughts
Improving your brand provides businesses with a competitive advantage in the market. At Huddle, we offer comprehensive branding services that include everything from brand strategy to logo design and website development. Get in touch to learn more.