Brand vs. Branding Message – Is there a Difference?
When designing your staffing firm’s brand, you must determine how you want your company to be portrayed to potential clients and candidates.
The purpose of building a great brand is to generate revenue for your staffing firm and encourage repeat business over time. Your goal is always to balance your brand building efforts with ROI. The best brand and branding message in the world is only effective if it brings your staffing firm a great return on your marketing investment. Keep the following points in mind when developing a brand and branding message for your staffing firm.
Engage Your Target Audience
An essential component of any staffing firm’s branding efforts is an eye-catching logo that sets you apart from other staffing firms. Your brand is the overall look and feel of your company that you want people to remember; however, brands are more than just an image in the corner of your firm’s stationery. Brands must have meaning behind them and be built over time through successful interactions and word of mouth referrals. Brands help people to identify with your staffing firm. Your branding message celebrates those successful interactions and conveys those feelings to others.
Promote Your Staffing Firm
When creating a brand and branding message for your staffing firm, keep in mind that your staffing firm’s brand is your promise of quality to your clients and candidates. All promotional materials for your staffing firm must reinforce the same message and feel, from company business cards, to your website, to the dialog carried out by your sales team and recruiters. Your brand logo is a visual representation of your branding message that portrays who you are as a staffing firm. It should be featured on everything that represents your organization. In order to build brand loyalty, brochures handed out at conferences, email marketing initiatives, case studies and datasheets must all carry a consistent branding message to your target audience.
Emotional Buy-In
A great brand creates an emotional pull and makes your candidates and clients comfortable with their choice to sign on with your staffing firm. Your brand is the reason why those same clients and candidates feel comfortable referring their friends and business associates to your agency. The brand must be easy to recognize and remember. It is important for you to also have buy-in from your team and make sure that they are emotionally invested in your staffing firm’s brand. Your team members are responsible for delivering the firm’s branding message on a daily basis. The branding message tells the story of what your staffing firm stands for and what sets you apart from your competitors, so it is important that your team actively promotes this message during their interactions with clients and candidates. Your branding message is the reason why people ultimately have confidence in your brand.
Consistency is King
Your brand represents the value of your organization and is what determines whether someone becomes loyal to your staffing firm. It is important to make sure that your staffing firm is being presented in a consistent manner and that the same branding message is being delivered by all members of your organization. Everyone must agree with your message and every interaction must exemplify your brand. A good branding message provides value to your staffing firm’s brand, but a great brand is invaluable and will propel your organization to success. In order for your brand to stand the test of time, it must remain constant and not change every time the wind blows.
Defend Your Staffing Firm
Social media has the potential to make or break your staffing firm so enlist the help of a marketing firm to maintain and monitor social media platforms. Any negative reviews or posts must be responded to in a timely manner so as to show your customers you are dependable and responsive to their needs. Reinforce your social media posts and marketing campaigns with your branding message to help build brand loyalty. Engage your employees and ask for their help in defending your brand by constantly delivering a strong branding message that instills faith in the firm. Be sure to establish online guidelines with your team. Carefully identify who is responsible for addressing each issue pertaining to your staffing firm and make sure the brand and branding message for your staffing firm is consistent across all social media platforms.
Brand vs. Branding Message Takeaways:
- Appeal to your target audience with an attractive look and feel as well as a thoughtful message
- Ensure all promotional materials contain the visual imagery that promotes your brand and the branding message that defines your staffing firm
- Brands evoke an emotional response and the branding message tells the story of your firm
- Your brand must stay consistent to build loyalty among your target audience and your message reinforces that brand loyalty
- Your brand is your reputation so make sure to defend your company with a consistent branding message
About S.J.Hemley Marketing
S.J.Hemley Marketing is a marketing and sales consulting firm focused on driving tangible results for professional services firms. Brand matters, but not without ROI. With over 20 years of sales and marketing experience within staffing and recruiting, we have helped to drive successful branding, sales training, lead generation activities as well as defining marketing strategy for top organizations.