Branding

Branding is about creating a consistent image for your business, and standing by it's values and ethics. Branding is very much more that what we cover here but choosing a name, tagline and creating an image for your business is a good start.
Choosing a name
Deciding on a name can be one of the most difficult things you will have to do as once you have decided on it everything revolves around it, and it’s not easy to change at a later date.
Things to consider are:
Once you have come up with your name first check to see if it is available at Companies House, at www.companieshouse.gov.uk, even if you are going to choose to be a sole trader or partnership and not a company, if a company registered at Companies House has the same name that you want to use it may give you issues going forward.
Secondly check the domain name and email address is available. I tend to use www.123-reg.co.uk for my domain names; however there are hundreds of providers out there to choose from. A few others are www.godaddy.com , www.fasthosts.co.uk , and www.names.co.uk . The domain name is the web address that you want to use for example www.123-reg.co.uk is a domain name.
If you need help to create a business name you could always outsource it to someone on Fiverr.com.
Choosing a name
Deciding on a name can be one of the most difficult things you will have to do as once you have decided on it everything revolves around it, and it’s not easy to change at a later date.
Things to consider are:
- Do you want to have a name that says what you do?
- Do you want the name to be unusual so that it is a talking point?
- Could you use your personal name?
- Could you use the initials of your family to create a name?
- What image do you want to portray?
Once you have come up with your name first check to see if it is available at Companies House, at www.companieshouse.gov.uk, even if you are going to choose to be a sole trader or partnership and not a company, if a company registered at Companies House has the same name that you want to use it may give you issues going forward.
Secondly check the domain name and email address is available. I tend to use www.123-reg.co.uk for my domain names; however there are hundreds of providers out there to choose from. A few others are www.godaddy.com , www.fasthosts.co.uk , and www.names.co.uk . The domain name is the web address that you want to use for example www.123-reg.co.uk is a domain name.
If you need help to create a business name you could always outsource it to someone on Fiverr.com.
Creating a tagline or slogan
Once you have decided on your name, you then need to come up with a tagline. This isn’t mandatory however a tagline sums up either what you do or what you stand for. You can use your USP to help you here. Here are some examples that have been used by well-known businesses to get you thinking about your tagline:
Once you have decided on your name, you then need to come up with a tagline. This isn’t mandatory however a tagline sums up either what you do or what you stand for. You can use your USP to help you here. Here are some examples that have been used by well-known businesses to get you thinking about your tagline:
- Aldi- Spend a Little, Live a Lot
- Audi - Vorsprung Durch Technik
- BMW – The ultimate driving machine
- BT – It’s good to talk
- Gillette – The best a man can get
- Heinz Baked Beans - Beanz Meanz Heinz
- John Lewis – Never Knowingly Undersold
- L’Oreal – Because You’re Worth It
- Mars - A Mars a day helps you work, rest and play
- Nike – Just Do It
- Tesco - Every Little Helps
- Toyota - The car in front is a Toyota
Create Your Logo
Once you have your business name and tagline you can create your logo. There are various ways you can do this:
It depends on your concept and idea for the business as to how professional you want to go, I have three businesses, for Beacon Accountancy I originally created it myself using Microsoft word just using shapes, colours, and letters, and then used the snipping tool in Windows to turn it in to a jpeg (image) file. I have since re-done the logo as part of our revamp 7 years on and created it myself using www.Canva.com.
For the Business Pod I outsourced it to someone on Fiverr, I gave them a brief of what I wanted, and I loved what they had created for me. If you are not creative in the slightest then it may be worth the money to get a graphic designer to do this for you, in my experience a graphic designer designed logos normally look more professional than something you can create yourself, that being said with the use of Canva.com it is a lot easier and cheaper now to try and create yourself if you wanted to.
For Quantum R&D Tax, again I created it myself using Canva.
I have a creative streak which is why I have created 2 out of 3 of the logos myself, however if you have no vision for what you think would look good then as a starting point outsourcing it to someone on Fiverr will at least get you started with some ideas.
Once you have your business name and tagline you can create your logo. There are various ways you can do this:
- Do it yourself (cost = just your time)
- Get a local graphic designer to create one for you (cost = £40+)
- Subcontract it to someone on Fiverr or Elance (cost = Less than £40)
It depends on your concept and idea for the business as to how professional you want to go, I have three businesses, for Beacon Accountancy I originally created it myself using Microsoft word just using shapes, colours, and letters, and then used the snipping tool in Windows to turn it in to a jpeg (image) file. I have since re-done the logo as part of our revamp 7 years on and created it myself using www.Canva.com.
For the Business Pod I outsourced it to someone on Fiverr, I gave them a brief of what I wanted, and I loved what they had created for me. If you are not creative in the slightest then it may be worth the money to get a graphic designer to do this for you, in my experience a graphic designer designed logos normally look more professional than something you can create yourself, that being said with the use of Canva.com it is a lot easier and cheaper now to try and create yourself if you wanted to.
For Quantum R&D Tax, again I created it myself using Canva.
I have a creative streak which is why I have created 2 out of 3 of the logos myself, however if you have no vision for what you think would look good then as a starting point outsourcing it to someone on Fiverr will at least get you started with some ideas.

Image & Branding
With all your marketing materials, including your website, business cards, and any flyers/brochures you create, you must portray a consistent image and brand.
A brand by definition is ‘the promotion of a particular product or company by means of advertising and distinctive design’; this is created by always providing a consistent image.
An example of this in the extreme is Virgin Airlines, where the cabin crew wear flat black shoes on board a long-haul flight to be able to do their job without being in pain, however the moment they step off the plane into the airport you will see they are always in their red heels, as that is part of the brand image the company requires their staff to adhere to.
You need to consider what your image is going to be and create your brand around this.
It will depend on who your ideal client is and also what you stand for as to what your image will be, and you will find your brand and what you become known for will evolve over time.
Things to make sure your branding is consistent:
With all your marketing materials, including your website, business cards, and any flyers/brochures you create, you must portray a consistent image and brand.
A brand by definition is ‘the promotion of a particular product or company by means of advertising and distinctive design’; this is created by always providing a consistent image.
An example of this in the extreme is Virgin Airlines, where the cabin crew wear flat black shoes on board a long-haul flight to be able to do their job without being in pain, however the moment they step off the plane into the airport you will see they are always in their red heels, as that is part of the brand image the company requires their staff to adhere to.
You need to consider what your image is going to be and create your brand around this.
It will depend on who your ideal client is and also what you stand for as to what your image will be, and you will find your brand and what you become known for will evolve over time.
Things to make sure your branding is consistent:
- Use the same logo on all marketing materials
- Use the same logo on all social media
- Create a colour palette and ensure you use the same colours consistently when creating marketing materials and on your website
- If you ever change or update your logo make sure you change it in all places, including any free directories you have listed your business on.