They say that high school never ends, and that’s an important concept to understand when talking about branding.

What do kids in high school tend to do? Right or wrong, they tend to judge, categorize and label each other. To figure out whom they should hang out with or avoid, kids look for signs that someone belongs to a certain group. What are they wearing? Where do they hang out? How do they act in or out of school?

Adults do this, too. In high school it was about how to spend social capital. Now it’s about how we decide where to spend our money. We’re still using the same basic criteria:

Appearance
From business cards to apparel to billboards, we’re always asking ourselves whether that logo/sign/advertisement looks cheap/outdated/confusing or impressive/fresh/clear. Do these look like people I can trust?

Location
This is about more than just the lot where a retail store stands. Websites need to be easy to find and to remember. Ads (whether traditional or digital) need to match the audience (i.e. high-end products appearing in media that appeal to high-income earners).

Behavior
This is the part of the brand most likely to maintain a customer. Does this business exude confidence, intelligence and empathy? We look at everything from pricing/fee/return policies to videos to in-person interactions to decide.

We’ve been looking at branding from the consumer’s point of view. Now step back into your shoes as the business owner. Think about how you look, where you’re seen and how you act in public and decide: is your brand what you think it is?

We have all the tools you need to help you answer that question and get control of the answer. Contact us today and we’ll talk it over with you.