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If you’re working at a smaller financial services firm, you may not have a brand guidelines document yet. The ideas and rules may be in your head … or they may be in constant flux. Either way, it’s time that changed.
Here are 11 good reasons why you and your company need to create clear brand guidelines. A brand guidelines document will:
1. Boost output
Enable different team members, especially in the marketing department, to work more effectively together.
2. Improve consistency
A brand guideline will help ensure that there is consistency across all of your firm’s communications, from internal HR emails to client-facing microsites.
3. Spread the word
A formalized and well-designed brand guideline will highlight the importance of the brand in relation to your firm’s public image.
4. Provide direction
Provide practical instructions on daily usage, so you’ll have to answer fewer questions. Your coworkers will thank you for this clarity.
5. Strengthen reputation
An inconsistent look and feel can weaken your firm’s reputation. So provide guidelines that reinforce a positive perception of your company.
6. Guarantee look and feel
Little things, like the regular vs. the narrow version of a font, can have a big impact. Help ensure everyone is using the right font, colour palette, graphics, etc.
7. Build relationships
Build relationships with different departments by working towards a common goal.
8. Increase output
Boost creative output by focusing everyone on the message, not the design details. You can save your design team many hours by cutting down on the number of revisions they need to make.
9. Educate coworkers
Provide a quick education on brand for new members of the marketing team.
10. Speed up changes
A well-thought-out brand guideline can make brand updates plug-and-play as any question can be addressed.
11. Stay ahead of your competitors
You can help your company maintain a leading edge by creating a strong, recognizable brand.
It might seem difficult to find the time to create a clear brand guideline for your firm, but it’s worth the effort. So schedule some time over the next while, and enlist your team and Ext. Marketing Inc., to get it done.