Obviously, having a great name, logo, and brand is essential to every creative business. However, branding isn’t just about your visual identity and values—it’s about how those values fit neatly into your clients’ experience. From the very first moment they hear about you, right through to your first face-to-face meeting, your brand should be consistent and ever-present.
Too often we only fret about the big stuff, the things that everybody will see when they think of your brand. But what about the small stuff—all those personal moments in between, where your client is interacting with your brand in their own time and place? Those are the moments you can really take to the next level with a little thought and effort.
Here are three ways you can elevate your clients’ journey with your brand in simple but powerful ways:
1. Using a selfie-GIF in your email signature
When it comes to building relationships with clients, there’s no replacement for face-to-face meetings or video calls. However, you can still bring a sparkle to those other little touchpoints along the way. Each one is a chance to build trust and get your personal brand across. Something we think every creative should be doing is using GIFs in their email signatures. Try using a warm and smiley GIF of yourself in your signature and see the delighted responses you get back from leads and clients. The best tool out there for this is called Email Signature Rescue—it’ll save you heaps of time. If you prefer a written email signature, with an email signature generator, you can create one in just seconds.
Bonus tip: If you have Live Chat on your site, try using a GIF of yourself in your first welcome message. Again, just seeing your face and a friendly smile sparks trust right from the get-go.
2. Mailing handwritten letters
Handwritten letters are having something of a revival. The simple reason is that in a world now dominated by marketing automations, doing something that is obviously one-to-one and personal cuts through the noise and shows customers that you care about them. Just taking the time to do something like this, rather than sending a standard email, is a quick path to generating trust and advocacy that will likely bring repeat business and referrals. If you don’t have time to write everything with pen, two great tools to help scale this approach are Felt App (in the USA) and Inkpact (in the UK). We’ve used both, and they have great service and support.
3. Sending personal welcome and thank-you videos
You only get about five seconds to make a first impression, so why leave it to a plain old email? Sending personal videos to clients is super easy but extremely powerful. We’ve sent over 10,000 videos to our customers using Bonjoro, and along the way we found three core reasons it works so well. First, it shows new customers that you are prepared to take the time for them. Second, it gives you a chance to say their name—this helps you gain their attention amidst all the competition and prove that your service will be truly personal to them. Finally, it’s a simple opportunity for new clients to see your face and hear your voice. In short, it’s surefire way to kick-start a personal and trusting relationship with your clients, which in turn helps you land more business. A win-win by all accounts!
