10 Quotes About Building a Brand Everyone Should Read Once

Any marketer not working for an established, big name brand will understand that building a brand identity from square one is hard work. After all, 'it takes 5 to 7 impressions for people to remember your brand' (Pam Moore), and that's just to get people to remember let alone to have a positive impression of it. So it all takes a lot of hard work and patience, but is there anything we can learn from those who've already done incredibly successful work to build brand's in their industry (even personal ones) ? We were inspired looking at these famous quotes about building a brand, so we thought we'd share them with you too.

1. ”Design is the silent ambassador of your brand.” - Paul Rand

Paul Rand worked on brand logos for the likes of IBM, UPS and ABC. When he said 'Design is the silent ambassador of your brand' he knew that from experience in working as an Art Director and Graphic Designer to craft some of the most famous brand identities in the world. What did we learn? Nowadays, it's worth remembering that when your customers aren't reading the carefully selected words chosen to advertise your brand, they are simply seeing your brand for the graphics and design you've chosen to let represent it. And that's why it's so crucial to pay attention to every little detail, even from your email signatures to your letterheads.

2. "Branding is the process of connecting good strategy with good creativity." - Marty Neumeier

On the Marty Neumeier website, the quote that takes centre stage is ' Your brand isn’t what you say it is. It’s what they say it is. ' And how true is that? We can all see the great value and brilliant traits of our own brand, but how often do you talk really passionately about a brand which you have no connection to? It usually takes something unique and special to get us to do that. To get people to talk about your brand in a positive way, it's all about using strategy and creativity together. This quote taught us that it's all about making informed decisions whilst having clear goals in mind, and then getting creative on how you'll execute them ideas.

3. “Your brand is a story unfolding across all customer touch points.” - Jonah Sachs

It's really easy to forget that your website's homepage isn't necessarily where your customers are going to come into contact with your brand first, in fact, it likely won't be. Instead you've got customers seeing advertisements, reviews, social media posts or maybe even traditional marketing materials like posters and business cards. So all the effort that goes into perfecting every last inch of your website design, that should also be the level of effort going into the design being used across every touch point your customer can experience.

4. “If you don’t give the market the story to talk about, they’ll define your brand’s story for you.” – David Brier

Much like the quote from Marty Neumeier's website, this quote reiterates the important fact that your audience will fill in the gaps for your brand if you don't first create a story. When building a brand, you have the power to create your brand's story. What is the main goal of your brand? What makes your team so passionate about what they do? What are customers being a part of when they come to your brand for help? Those questions help you to craft a story for your brand, and your graphic design helps to back that all up visually.

5. “A brand for a company is like a reputation for a person. You earn reputation by trying to do hard things well.” - Jeff Bezos

This quote reminded us why it's so dangerous to believe your product will sell just because you can see the value in it. Even with the most helpful, innovative service in the world - if your brand has a bad reputation, people will question if they should buy from you. No matter how many ads you run, you won't get the same return as the brand who are prioritising their brand's identity both visually and by reputation. 'Do hard things well' is a good motto when building your brand. From the logo to your social media accounts, everything should carry a level of professionalism you'd be happy to have associated with your brand.

6. "Branding demands commitment; commitment to continual re-invention; striking chords with people to stir their emotions; and commitment to imagination. It is easy to be cynical about such things, much harder to be successful. - Sir Richard Branson

This one is a great reminder of the fact that building a brand that is remembered and respected takes a lot of time and won't happen overnight. It's also a good reminder that at the base of it, it comes down to your brand's ability to connect with it's audience. So appealing to the emotions of your audience helps a lot, and so does continually being imaginative about how you can best present information in a way that is understandable and relatable to your demographic.

7. "If people like you they will listen to you, but if they trust you, they’ll do business with you." - Zig Ziglar

Just like any relationship, trust is an integral part of the relationship between your brand and it's audience. Without it, you cannot build a successful brand. Building trust can only be done by continually showing your brand to be honest, knowledgeable and transparent and so it's another ongoing project but it's one that is crucial to the lifelong success of your brand.

8. “You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do.” – Henry Ford

Actions speak louder than words so to build the best possible reputation with your audience, you've got to follow through on your ideas, strategies and promises. Show your audience why they should trust you by illustrating how your brand has helped other client's like them in the past. Make sure the results you advertise for clients are attainable, and report often on the difference that your brand is making. By doing those things you are showing your audience why they should trust you, rather than asking for their loyalty based on the promises your brand makes.

We hope this article has inspired you to keep on working to build your brand, even if it might be taking longer than you had hoped to see the results you want, and to look for new strategies and ways to keep building up trust with your audience. For more marketing and graphic design related blogs, check out more posts here.