Branding Guidelines: It’s always good to see a familiar face.

Have you ever been alone in a large crowd or party, just hoping you run into someone you know? I think that’s how most people feel these days as they try to decide what to buy amongst the endless choices that are out there. We all feel overwhelmed with too many options, so we tend to put our trust in the things we’ve seen before. It’s a simple idea, but it’s extremely important to the success of your business that all of your customers and prospects see your brand as a familiar face.

You want people to instantly recognize, remember and recommend your brand, right? This might sound painfully obvious, but the easiest way to do this is by making your brand easily and consistently recognizable.

Here are 5 quick guidelines to make sure you stand out in the crowd.

1. Keep your brand image simple and unique. Then stick to it, no matter what.

2. Use one bold, iconic logo that can be easily seen from a mile away.

3. Pick a distinctive palette of 2-3 colors and paint the world with them.

4. Limit yourself to just 1 or 2 unique fonts on all of your marketing pieces.

5. This is the most important guideline: once you have your logo, colors, and fonts all in order, use them over and over and over and over and over....and....you get the idea.

The key to familiarity is consistency. And the key to successful consistency is simplicity. You need a simple but unique identity that can be effortlessly reproduced for the years to come. Ever notice how most of the world renowned brands such as Coca-Cola, Apple, or Nike have stuck with a simple logo and a consistent look and feel for decades?

Once you establish a few guidelines for your brand, you’ll find it becomes easier to get your message out there. And as time goes by, your customers will find it easier to come up and say hello when they spot you in the crowd.