Supposedly, we are pretty much hard-wired to respond favorably when one or more of these words are used. But is all of that just hoopla? Or do certain words actually make a huge difference?

Some Words Do Work Better That Others

When you get right down to it, some words really do work better than others. If you pick any given time frame, you can usually find a few of these “magic” words—words that are being used very effectively to market and sell things. But there’s a big catch: the “magic” sales words are changing constantly.

As the general opinion of the populace changes, so to do the words that work best when selling. Your market is being bombarded with sales pitches and advertisements constantly, and their opinions and ideas are changing very rapidly as a result. What is cool and trendy one week might suddenly be a big looser the next.

How to Find the Magic Words

Finding the special words at any point in time isn’t very difficult in theory. In practice, doing this yourself will take a lot of time and probably yield mediocre results. Here’s how it is done:

• Find a good source of sales data
• Select a category and sample the top 50 or so items
• Graph the popularity of words used in ads for those items
• Repeat for several data sets and correlate with time
• Analyze the graphs and pick words that are trending up

As you can see, there is a lot of data collection and analysis involved. What makes it worse, this relatively simple analysis uses existing products and ads as data points, so if you are trying to be seriously ahead of the curve, this isn’t the way to go. In the end, finding the truly “magic” sales words can be very challenging. People pay marketing firms *cough* good money for the service, and even with all of our resources it still isn’t easy.

For Small Business, Sincerity is a Better Choice

Trying to stay ahead of the curve with sales letters and persuasive words is like running a marathon—you constantly have to research, adjust and keep working. If you’re a small business, that time should probably be spent on more important things. Instead of trying to find special words that will “unlock your sales potential” try basing your sales strategy entirely on sincerity.

One of the most attractive things about buying from a small business is the level of sincerity and personalized service. Most of us automatically assume that big businesses will cut corners wherever possible, and that they are really only in it for the money. A small business that offers real sincerity and caring will out-compete even the most accurate and powerful “magic” words thrown around by the big businesses.

Truth is personal branding is easier than company branding. Why? Because if you believe in your talent, skills and ability – it’s easier to sell what you believe in. Your image is already created and now you just have to market it. How do you market yourself? That’s easy. You must become a pro in your industry and an expert in your field.

With that said are there downfalls to personal branding? Absolutely. Unless you plan to work forever, it will be difficult to transition the brand to someone else. After all you are the brand. If you are alright with the fact that in order to transition out of the brand you will need to create a new one that your consumers can grasp onto then personal branding may just be for you.

When branding yourself remember that you must create a strong and consistent brand. You cannot skimp just because it’s about you. Strong brands are clear about who they are and what they are not; which is why branding yourself can be an easy process. You already know who you are and what you are not. Strong brands are also consistent; it’s easy to be consistent in who you are. By branding yourself effectively you will:

• Establish yourself as an expert in your chosen field.
• Build a solid reputation within your industry.
• Increase your notoriety and improve your perceived value in the marketplace.

The key to successfully branding yourself and doing it effectively is to first establish a personal brand identity. Once you have done that focus that message on who you are and what you stand for within your chosen field. Your final step is to get the word out through a variety of media channels that are viewed by the people most likely to be interested in your message.

People will begin to see your name and become aware of the benefit and knowledge that you offer. Before you know it, people will not only know who you are but they will begin to seek out your services and expertise. They will identify with your brand which is you.

There has always been a fair amount of discussion in the design community about this topic, about your logo not being your brand. Although this may be true, we have not seen any clarification of the differences between ‘brand’, ‘identity’ and ‘logo’. We would like to take a moment to clarify this.

What is brand? – The perceived emotional corporate image as a whole.
What is identity? – The visual aspects that form part of the overall brand.
What is a logo? – A logo identifies a business in its simplest form via the use of a mark or icon.

What is Branding?

Branding is certainly not a simple topic – whole publications and hundreds of books have been written on the topic, however to put it in a nutshell you could describe a ‘brand’ as an organization, service or product with a ‘personality’ that is shaped by the perceptions of the audience. On that note, it should also be stated that a designer cannot “make” a brand – only the audience can do this. A designer forms the foundation of the brand.

Many people believe a brand only consists of a few elements – some colors, some fonts, a logo, a slogan and maybe some music added in too. In reality, it is much more complex than that. You might say that a brand is a ‘corporate image’.

The fundamental idea and core concept behind having a ‘corporate image’ is that everything a company does, everything it owns and everything it produces should reflect the values and aims of the business as a whole.

It is the consistency of this core idea that makes up the company, driving it, showing what it stands for, what it believes in and why they exists. It is not purely some colors, some typefaces, a logo and a slogan.

As an example, let’s look at the well known company, Apple. Apple as a company, projects a humanistic corporate culture and a strong corporate ethic, one which is characterized by volunteerism, support of good causes and involvement in the community. These values of the business are evident throughout everything they do, from their innovative products and advertising, right through to their customer service. Apple is an emotionally humanist brand that really connects with people – when people buy or use their products or services; they feel part of the brand, like a tribe even. It is this emotional connection that creates their brand – not purely their products and a bite sized logo.

What is Identity Design?

One major role in the ‘brand’ or ‘corporate image’ of a company is its identity.

In most cases, identity design is based around the visual devices used within a company, usually assembled within a set of guidelines. These guidelines that make up an identity usually administer how the identity is applied throughout a variety of mediums, using approved color palettes, fonts, layouts, measurements and so forth. These guidelines ensure that the identity of the company is kept coherent, which in turn, allows the brand as a whole, to be recognizable.

The identity or ‘image’ of a company is made up of many visual devices:

• A Logo (The symbol of the entire identity & brand)
• Stationery (Letterhead + business card + envelopes, etc.)
• Marketing Collateral (Flyers, brochures, books, websites, etc.)
• Products & Packaging (Products sold and the packaging in which they come in)
• Apparel Design (Tangible clothing items that are worn by employees)
• Signage (Interior & exterior design)
• Messages & Actions (Messages conveyed via indirect or direct modes of communication)
• Other Communication (Audio, smell, touch, etc.)
• Anything visual that represents the business.

All of these things make up an identity and should support the brand as a whole. The logo however, is the corporate identity and brand all wrapped up into one identifiable mark. This mark is the avatar and symbol of the business as a whole.

What is a Logo?

To understand what a logo is, we must first understand what it is for. A logo is for… identification.

A logo identifies a company or product via the use of a mark, flag, symbol or signature. A logo does not sell the company directly nor rarely does it describe a business. Logo’s derive their meaning from the quality of the thing it symbolizes, not the other way around – logos are there to identity, not to explain. In a nutshell, what a logo means is more important than what it looks like.

To illustrate this concept, think of logos like people. We prefer to be called by our names – James, Dorothy, John – rather than by the confusing and forgettable description of ourselves such as “the guy who always wears pink and has brown hair”. In this same way, a logo should not literally describe what the business does but rather, identify the business in a way that is recognizable and memorable.

It is also important to note that only after a logo becomes familiar, does it function the way it is intended to do much alike how we much must learn people’s names to identify them.

The logo identifies a business or product in its simplest form.

Summary:

Brand – The perceived emotional corporate image as a whole.
Identity – The visual aspects that form part of the overall brand.
Logo – Identifies a business in its simplest form via the use of a mark or icon.