Yesterday my team and I popped down to the Lunch! expo at the ExCel to meet with clients and candidates of PIE’s, both past present & future. We had a fantastic day networking, learning our market and learning the importance of branding in the FMCG world.
The amount of start-ups in all industries is at an all-time high and we witnessed some quite frankly incredible success stories. Here at PIE we are no different, its nearly 3 years since we started up and business is fantastic.
Without our brilliant consultants we could not have achieved anything close to the success we have had thus far. However, it was the investment in our brand which set the foundation to grow from and it is unique in our market - which is being recognised in the industry.
Lunch! yesterday really showed how uncomplicated, recognisable, consistent branding backed by a good product, really creates success stories. What we’ve done – alongside many others including Graze, Ugly Brands, The Collective, Emily's Crisps, Propercorn – is to set a modern and simple tone and we carry it through our business, adhering to our values which our people exude. Speaking to guys from the aforementioned businesses yesterday, one of the key elements of branding was consistency through every activity you do, and the feedback we had on PIE's brand was amazing to hear.
In an age where data is king, you must stand out from the crowd in order to use it.
We all get it wrong sometimes but that striving for consistency and growth always comes back to doing it how you want to do it, in line with your brand values.
Stand Out, Stick to it, Communicate it & Load it with Personality.
As someone who spends their time helping small businesses with marketing, I’ve seen firsthand how many entrepreneurs relegate branding to the “I’ll get to that later” pile. Who can blame them? The nuts and bolts of running a business is always at the forefront – paying bills, scheduling shipments, reaching the right audience… the list goes on. But even for those who do focus on branding, there’s a major misperception that branding only consists of a name and logo, or that it only matters for the biggest companies. In reality, branding is so much more – and it’s critical for businesses of all sizes because it establishes a company’s personality and public persona. Most importantly, it communicates the characteristics, values and attributes that can make or break whether a customer chooses you over your competition.
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