Humans perceive visuals significantly faster than text. The human eye excels at spotting visual elements, including colours, shapes, and everything else in between. By utilizing visual branding techniques you can create a positive brand perception among clients and promote loyalty to your products and services, two of the most important proponents of a successful business.
Here are a few ways visual branding can have a positive impact on your company and strategies to use its power in your favor.
A Solid First Impression
While it’s not always a good idea to judge a book by its cover, it seems as though humans really can’t help it. Studies have shown that it takes a mere 50 milliseconds for people to form an opinion upon seeing branding visuals. In this regard, think of your visual branding as another salesperson whose sales incentives are to leave the best possible first impression on prospective clients.
Whether or not a customer will purchase a product or book a service often depends on word-of-mouth recommendations, user reviews, and price. Leaving a solid first impression through stylish and captivating branding visuals, however, can make the difference between a potentially loyal client and a disinterested passerby.
Tell Your Story
Aside from having a deep psychological effect, good branding should ideally tell a story. That first impression should go beyond leaving a good or bad impression. It should passively communicate the story of your company, your business mindset, and your goal as a company. But how can you communicate all of that via basic logos and colors?
You can investigate this phenomenon for yourself by looking through the visual branding features of a company on its website, SMM content, platform, and other company assets. Try predicting what kind of work that company does and its mission statement. For example, if you see a company with a lot of green and visuals of nature in their about us page design, you can safely assume that environmental friendliness is part of their business ethic.
Companies that use a larger colour palette with bright hues can be seen as more casual and laid-back, whereas those with more minimal brand visuals may be more down to business. Decide what colors best represent your company’s mindset and work ethic. This method gives people an idea of what your company is about by simply looking at the visual style of your branding.
Association Through Consistency
Consistency is the cornerstone of a successful branding campaign. Everything from web design to product packaging, SMM posts, and app icons must use a specific color palette and feature consistent design features across the board. This consistency is what consumers remember about a particular brand when they see certain visual features or colors.
For example, two arches conjoined in the middle may not draw any association, but paint it yellow, and all of a sudden the visual reminds you of a very famous fast food chain. This type of brand recognition is what you should be aiming for.
Unique Voice on Social Media
One of the biggest pros of Instagram and other social media platforms is that they give you the tools you need to develop a unique voice through visual branding and strengthen your online presence. The challenge is creating a voice that consumers can differentiate from everyone else’s. Why is this differentiation important?
In a highly-competitive market, with tons of companies providing similar services to your own, it’s your company’s unique voice that will convince prospective buyers that your product is the best offer. Leverage social media to build brand awareness of your visual branding.
Building Loyalty and Retention
Visual branding has a positive impact on your customer loyalty and retention rates. These two terms are not interchangeable; there is a very crucial difference between loyalty vs retention. Client retention includes existing customers who continue doing business with you past the initial exchange. Loyalty, on the other hand, refers to customer preference for your products and services over competitors.
Creating a unique brand identity is a fundamental step in improving client loyalty and retention since your visual branding is what sets you apart from the competition.
In Conclusion
Branding visuals say quite a lot about what your company does, what it stands for, what it prioritizes, and what consumers can expect from your work. Its impact on brand perception and recognition is undeniable, hence why so many companies put a great deal of effort into their brand visuals.
With smart visual branding, your company will develop a positive perception among clients and retain a loyal clientele that will prove incredibly advantageous to your business growth.