Nowadays, it is more important than ever before to make sure you stand out from other businesses in your industry. Competition is fiercer than ever. There are more marketing channels available and companies are competing on a global basis rather than a local scale thanks to the dominance of the Internet. Because of this, it is imperative to have a strong and effective brand image. This is something you need to continue working on. Therefore, if it is time for an online revamp, read on…

HIRING A BRANDING AGENCY

You are going to need expert assistance if you need an entire revamp. But before you go looking, you need to make sure you understand what you should get in return for your cash. There is a lot more to using the services of a branding agency than meets the eye. A lot of people tend to assume that these sorts of companies merely provide logo design and nothing else, but that’s certainly not the case. So, what can you expect from a branding agency?

Extensive market research

These agencies develop an entire strategy to ensure that your company is unique compared to the competition. This involves extensive research of your business – your ethics and your target consumer base, as well as a thorough evaluation of your competition and their approach to branding and marketing.

Discover your brand’s personality and what direction to take it in

Whether you need a brand developed from scratch or you need to move yours in a new direction, a quality agency will help you to discover your brand’s personality and paint a vivid picture of what direction to move in. This involves developing a strategy that ensures your company’s values are articulated.  

Identify your target markets

When developing your branding strategy, one of the most important things to do is identify your target market and how to best appeal to them. This is something a branding agency will help you to do.

Take advantage of the latest technologies

By using the services of a quality branding agency, you can take advantage of resources that you otherwise would not be able to. They have access to the latest software and technology, and they also know the best approaches when it comes to social media and mobile platforms too. They will handle everything from building your website to marketing it. This makes it much easier when it comes to creating a site that stands out from the crowd.

Ensure your branding strategy is the foundation of all marketing efforts

Last but not least, a quality branding agency will make sure the branding strategy that is developed is at the core of all of your marketing efforts. This involves everything from print marketing to website design.

WHAT SERVICES CAN YOU BENEFIT FROM?

It is also important to know about the great assortment of services that you can benefit from. Of course, web design is the main offering, meaning you can have a stunning, stylish and professional website designed for your business. However, there are other services you should consider benefitting from. Keeping that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the most popular options before…

• App development – Nowadays, having a stylish and effective website is often not enough. Have you considered the development of an app? This is something that could reap significant rewards for your business. You will be able to appeal to a new set of customers, increase your sales levels and ultimately the amount of profit you make.

• Email marketing – There are several different online marketing platforms that are available to you and email marketing is one you certainly should not ignore. The great thing about email marketing is the fact that you can reward loyal customers and tempt them with discounts and such like. It is all about ensuring you catch the eye and that your email ends up being read instead of being thrown into the trash. This is something the best design companies can definitely assist with.

• Social media marketing – Another type of marketing service that should definitely be considered is social media marketing. To ignore social media is a huge mistake, no matter what industry you operate in. Companies like Climbing Trees will help you to choose the right social networking platforms for you and they will help you to build a dominant presence. This will ensure that you have a loyal following and customer base, which can only be good news for your business.

• Perception audits – Perception audits offer a great way of discovering what your customers actually think about your business and your online presence. How are you performing? Are there any existing pain points? Are there any unique requests from your customers? You will get a better understanding of your company and your performance so you can continue to make improvements and reap the rewards in the future.

• Support and maintenance – Last but not least, the best design agencies will provide you with on-going support and maintenance. This is definitely something you should take advantage of. By doing this, you can be confident that you will always have professionals on your side if something goes wrong with your website. This guarantees that you are always getting the most from your online presence.

The five services that have been mentioned merely scratch the surface when it comes to the different options you have available when using the services of a branding and design agency, so make sure you consider all of your options carefully. It is also worth doing a little bit of research about web design rather than diving right in. We can help you with this by looking at some of the most common trends at the moment.

One Colour Dominance

First and foremost, as time passes, we are likely to see one colour rule. More and more businesses are electing to opt for one colour, teamed with either black or white, when it comes to the design of their website. There are various benefits associated with doing so. Not only does it create a big impression, but it ensures that the business’s brand is memorable. People will easily associate the chosen colour with the brand.

Mobile Video

With every year that passes by we tend to see huge growth in terms of web design. In regards to 2017, it seems that all aspects of design progressed, with mobile video being an exception. In the past, it is more than fair to say that smartphones struggled when it came to video. This is especially the case when it comes to advertising. Nonetheless, this has changed and will keep changing, as the mobile web is becoming increasingly profitable for advertising campaigns and, therefore, advancements in mobile video are going to be necessary.

Creative Navigation Menus

Gone are the days when you would have a simple bar running across the top of the page or a category tab running down the left-hand side. Navigation menus are becoming more and more creative. From sticky menus, to dynamic animations, to imagery, to floating menus, there are many different ways navigation menus are going to be used in order to increase the browsing experience.

Longer Scrolling Websites

Last but not least, you may have noticed a few websites cropping up with a greater amount of scrolling. This is something we are likely to see more of throughout the year ahead. This trend has been born out of the boom in mobile and tablet internet usage. Scrolling makes it much easier for this type of user as opposed to including an abundance of links. You can simply scroll through the page to find the info you require. A lot of websites are incorporating this with another trend, which is story-telling, i.e. take the viewer on an interactive journey as they scroll down your web page.

So there you have it: everything you need to know about embarking on a complete online revamp of your brand. It is likely that you will need the services of an experienced branding agency for this so make sure you follow the advice that has been provided regarding what you should expect from such a company and the different services they can offer you. Furthermore, you will want to make sure that the website they provide you with is not only a good representation of your brand but also modern and stylish too.