There has been a considerable amount of comment and debate
on the issue of the brand value of the Royal Family to the finances of Great
Britain following the birth of Prince George.
Opinions are divided over the value of the monarchy in terms of the
impact on tourism and trade.
There are often similar differences of opinion on the value
of a company’s brand. Putting a
financial value to a brand is often only at a time of a merger or an acquisition
because the treatment of “goodwill” has considerable taxation implications for
all parties.
However, building up the value of a brand is often a
strategic priority for senior management.
It can take many years of careful investment and management and it can
be destroyed in one flippant remark or situation. Perhaps the best example being the infamous
speech by Gerald Ratner on the quality of the jewellery sold in his chain of
stores!
Large companies usually invest fortunes in developing,
maintaining or enhancing their brand image. They will usually do whatever is necessary to
protect their investment. Communications
specialists and agencies are hired to manage the process.
In some cases, the brand is regarded as the most valuable
aspect of a business, even though accountants prefer a more conservative
approach to valuation and recommend that the value rarely appears on a balance
sheet.
Even minor modifications to a logo can carry very
substantial financial consequences.
But is an investment in brand management a worthwhile
investment for the smaller business?
Without the resources available to larger companies how should
they approach creating, managing and protecting their brand?
Building up a brand can be an expensive process for any
small business or sole trader and the benefits are often only intangible and
can rarely be quantified.
However, research amongst consumers’ shows there is no doubt
that purchasing decisions are frequently influenced by a strong and effective
corporate identity.
There are many examples of how small businesses have used
their brand as a key part of their marketing strategy. Even London plumbers can turn up in uniform
driving smart new vehicles with personalised number plates!
First impressions are always crucial in any business and the
value of first impressions should not be underestimated particularly in a
service company where there is often little else to differentiate between
competitors.
If a sole trader or small company is clever they can easily
project the image of a larger company with greater resources and capability
than would otherwise be the case. Many
self-employed management consultants work independently but add the term
“Associates” to their title to imply they can draw upon other specialist
colleagues for larger projects.
High quality printed stationery and in particular business
cards and quotations are essential for the self-employed or smaller company,
particularly in the service sector.
Networking meetings are the new growth area for local small
businessmen and tradesmen because they do not eat into the working part of the
day. Having fantastic quality business cards
can make a big difference to the impression passed onto potential clients.
Documents used in all areas of the business should look
professional and communicate effectively.
Quotations handwritten on a plain piece of paper can raise doubts in the
minds of the customer.
Good graphic design can also be applied to other parts of
the business viewed by customers and potential customers. The most obvious are the staff appearance, vehicles,
signage and the web site.
A logo often encompasses the brand and it has traditionally
been a good investment to employ high quality designers at the outset. A logo is a chance for instant recognition
and differentiation. It is difficult and
expensive to change logos and so it is important to get it right, first time.
Creativity and style in design are important but the really difficult
part is the co-ordination and control during the implementation. Printing and visual identity can often
involve a large number of suppliers – all with their own specialisms and
pre-print design and artwork requirements.
It is rare to engage a single supplier for the production of
signage, stationery, promotional pens, exhibition stands and training
manuals. All involve different print
processes and equipment from screen printing, offset printing, large format
printing and digital printing.
Many a client has been disappointed after receiving printed
material that looked great on the computer screen but looked dark and dull when
printed.
So if corporate identity is a vital part of business
communication, how easy is it for the smaller business to control? How does the logo look when printed in RGB or
CMYK or are most people even aware of the difference? There are many factors that can cause problems
with visual identity
.
This is usually the function of a good graphic design agency
but the costs can be comparatively high and usually the service is tailored more
towards medium or larger sized companies.
Very few small companies or sole traders have the budget to
employ any form of agency and usually depend upon their own efforts or the
graphic designers employed by the various printing companies.
And yet, whatever the size of business, it is essential to
control this valuable business asset.
As a result of this particular dilemma a new service has
just been launched earlier this year.
Direct2Print Brand Control now offers a new and low cost
solution for the self-employed or smaller businesses.
Graphic design at Direct2Print is an in-house service and is
seen as a route to obtaining more print volume. The service is available for companies
wanting to use design in the production of training manuals and utilise visual
charts and slides to make training easier to comprehend.
With more and more customers of online printing providing
their own digital artwork this service is an ideal way of better utilising
design staff and equipment by targeting a niche market with a very competitively
priced and important service.
In our opinion it was a win-win situation from the outset.
Creating a simple digital logo is the first step. For as little as £60 the client can get a new
logo or a modification or an update of an existing design. The client completes a fairly comprehensive brief
and provides any preferences for colours or styles.
It is then left to experienced graphic designers prepare a
choice of 3 visuals for consideration and possible adaptation and amendment. These proofs are provided in hard copy format
and digital format. There is world of
difference in how certain colours work together in a digital or in a printed
format.
After any modification and selection of a logo the client has
the option to have this applied to any number of important files or documents
for safe storage and easy application.
In short, this is a basic Digital Asset Management service
for a small company.
The next step is to apply the logo to all the applications
required for the visual identity of the business. A CD and manual are prepared with artwork for
all types of business stationery or digital marketing files – indexed for easy
reference to allow for fast, low cost editing as and when required.
The files contain all important marketing materials and
documents. It can be used to store and
archive professional looking tenders, contracts, presentations, stationery,
uniforms, web design images and much, much more.
The total cost depends upon the amount of work required but it
is always a fixed price based on an estimate of the amount of time required for
the completed project and supply of the Brand Manual.
A typical assignment is to create a CD/Manual for all the
artwork a small business is likely to need for a total cost of less than £200.
The optional third step is to set up the benchmark
pricelists for a wide range of products.
The basic starting cost of the Direct2Print Brand Control service
would be £260. A small price to pay for that
extra peace of mind, improvement in administration and efficiency and control
over one of the most valuable asset’s any business might have.
It also saves very valuable time having all the artwork in
an easily accessible form. So, there are
fewer problems searching for files – particularly if you wish to switch
suppliers, or if your files become corrupted or you upgrade computers.
This is the type of investment that can be really worthwhile
and can give the small businessman control over the quality process whether supplying
artwork for a business card, web site, leaflet, uniform, vehicle livery, letter
or email.
The investment may be difficult to find on a balance sheet
but should help to create more sales and strengthen the service offering. It will make the business and save you the
one commodity that is invaluable – your own time. And, like the new Royal
parents are soon to find out, anything that saves time and gives you more
control is a worthwhile investment!
