We’ve all been there—it’s late, you’re driving in an unfamiliar neighborhood, and you’re hungry for a burrito. As you drive down a main thoroughfare, you’re confronted with the choice between the knowns: Del Taco, Rubio’s, or whatever other chain dominates the area, and the unknowns: the various Mexican places that dot the strip malls, with names like “Taco Pronto,” “Taqueria Vallarta,” and so on. What place do you go for? If you’re feeling adventurous, and if the sign still has most of its neon working, you may go for one of these wild card options. The truth is, though, that most people will naturally gravitate to the chains.
Why is this? It’s true that it’s a bit of a gamble, but the odds are that you’ll be able to find better, fresher food at the smaller places. Price might be a factor, too, as mega-corporations flaunt their economies of scale to drive their prices much lower than most local restaurants can manage. But if we set price and quality aside, the one crucial thing that often makes the decision is simple: you know the chain. As a business, being known is the first step to being successful. To the up-and-coming business, or the company in search of a rebrand, finding a branding agency in Orange County can be the first step in bridging the gap and allowing your company to be known.
Don’t go Changin’…
A huge factor in the fast food decision above is that you just know what to expect when you walk into a chain restaurant. Part of this appeal—totally separate from quality—is reproducibility. As such, the biggest commitment that fast food places show is their commitment to a reproducible experience: it’s not great, but not bad, and most importantly 100% reproducible. If you walk into any fast food restaurant in the country, you can expect an experience that is more or less identical. This reproducibility is how these brands are known.
Your Brand: Be Knowable
Still, apart from these concerns for quality control, you have to get them in the door. Your customer’s decision to engage with your company may be more complex than the hungry decision of a midnight traveler, but still, the principle behind branding works in the same exact way. The more recognizable your company is—the more knowable it is—then the more likely it will be that your company is part of the decision-making process for your potential customers.
That’s why, if you want to go for the biggest benefit to your growing organization, branding offers the biggest bang for your buck. If you’re a relatively unknown business, getting rebranded with the help of a branding agency in Orange County sets the stage for being known. If you’re preparing for a marketing push, a well-expressed brand enables every dollar you spend to work harder, and every marketing piece to make a better impression. The unique math of branding is such that the value you get from it stays with your business, helping your business grow better and reach more people.
A good logo & brand obviously can’t ensure that you’ll convert people; but it will ensure that more people can know you. After that, the ball is in your court, which is exactly where you want it to be.