Why Simplicity In Branding Matters, Desire for simplicity

Why Simplicity In Branding Matters, Desire for simplicity

We live in a world of plenty, so rich in products, features, and options that it makes our heads spin. Everywhere you choose another agonizing or decision, another new device or software application to figure out (if only barely), another email or magazine to read.

Complex world, Desire for simplicity

In a complex world, brands help us cut through the clutter and confusion and choose a great product or service without having to weight the benefits of every offering in a category. Top brands are powerful because they are simple, offering people a path through the jungle.

But even top brands can go wrong. To see what I mean, visit the Crest toothpaste website (https://www.crest.com) and try to count how many brands they have to offer. If you’re like me, you’ll quickly give up amidst the dizzying array of lines (whitening, cavity protection, baking soda, gels, just to name a few) and flavours (vanilla mint, strong mint, peppermint ). It’s enough to make anyone stop brushing!

A brand name gets its power from clarity, not variety. When busy people go to a store, they need the ability to make quick, safe, and satisfying decisions. Brands are powerful because they save people time. But when a brand splinters into multiple line extensions, it no longer stands for a single idea and begins to fade into the background noise. Simplicity always wins complexity.

A few consumer brands get it. And they are getting wealthy by dumping the extras and offering us less. What’s the most straightforward Internet service out there? Google, the market leader with 49% of the search engine market. What’s the easiest to use an MP3 player on the market? The iPod, with over 80% market share. What’s one of the most basic stripped down airlines out there? Southwest Airlines, its profits have last seen heading northeast.

So what about professional service brands? Do they offer the same benefits? Yes, but with a difference. Whereas consumers need to make quick, reliable decisions, business-to-business transactions tend to be more deliberate and studied. Professional service contracts are usually long-term and expensive, and the included services are often highly customized. So business buyers like to take the time to compare features and benefits.

But a brand’s reputation can still wield enormous power. The adage “nobody ever got fired for hiring IBM” is correct. the company with the most influential brand walks away with the contract.

4 Ways to build a more straightforward and more powerful brand:

Like the best consumer brands, service companies that have pure brands often shine through the fog of the marketplace. If you work for a professional service firm, here are four things you can do to build a more straightforward and more powerful brand:

1- Develop a clear and simply stated message. If you stand for something, you have something to sell.

2-Specialize. Many service companies want to be everything to everyone, so they keep broadening their service offerings. that is a mistake because most buyers prefer specialists to generalists. (Would you hire a handyman or a licensed electrician to rewire your home?)

3- Describe your services in simple terms. Many professional service companies mistake complexity for sophistication, so they use much jargon and vague but impressive-sounding terminology to pump up their services. If people don’t know what they are buying, however, they will go somewhere else.

4- Support your commitment to clarity with a clean and straightforward design. You’ll deliver your message with force and elegance.

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