Previously, on Arbenting: The Basics of Brand Building - The Intro, introduced the new series and discussed the idea behind it.
As a freelance designer/developer, referred to as a desidev later in the series...you are competing against an established sea of both freelance and corporate adversaries both for visibility and work. In this battle for rank and position among the varied participants across the facets of your freelance field, there are numerous opportunities to make your mark, but the brand is by far the best. Branding your business can offer you a leg up on this journey, and give you a bit of an advantage as you make your way through this business battlefield...As you set out on the branding course, you must be sure to address those six standard questions: the who, what, when, where, why and how of branding.
And now...we continue this examination of the branding process with our first area of consideration.
Who - Your Name Here
As the series gets underway, we will take the questions we are addressing in their standard order, which brings us first and foremost to the who...not the classic rock band, just the question. And it is a question you need to be aware of, because it will be asked as you embark, even if you are not the one asking. This would be unfortunate for you need to ask this query because as it happens, the one thing that can really aid in the establishing of your business' brand presence, is you.
Often times, it is that personal touch that people will end up responding to. Use this advantage that you have over the corporate competition, to help make your brand stick out and garner trust. As a smaller business you have the means to make this personal association work with you and not against you.
It is a known fact, or at least a regularly presented hypothesis, that people in general like to know who it is they are dealing or working with. Freelance desidevs have the upper hand in this instance because often when people work with a corporation, it is often a faceless interaction and the work is done through a series of intermediaries with whom you never interact. This can leave the customer with a cold, disconnected feeling, as opposed to the accessible feel of the freelancer. This means that you are the key, and therefore, you need to get your name out there and attached to your brand.
By hiding the identity of the people behind the brand, you may unintentionally raise other questions in the minds of potential clients. It may be construed by some as a lack of pride in your freelance business, or worse, an intention to not fully see your brand through to the end. If you are not readily associated with your business, people may think that you are not interested in anything beyond building the business up to then sell off to someone else.
Others may further assume that you are not confident enough in the business you have built to stand up behind it. Either way they take it, if they see it in these ways it is going to spell trouble for your brand. This lack of trust and see-through in your desidev business will more than likely be reflected in your client response.
So when signing up to build your brand remember who? 'Your name here'!
Next Time on The Basics of Brand Building
We are just getting this discussion started here, and have several more queries to tackle as the week pours on. On tomorrow's edition of the series we are going to examine the next question, the what. This next leg of the branding discussion covers The Business Model.
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Nice tips :-)