Branding is an essential element of selling your services as a mortgage broker, but cut corners and you could cause serious damage to your business.
Branding is an essential element of selling your services as a mortgage broker, but cut corners and you could cause serious damage to your business.
According to Simon Rowell, founder and managing director of Brand Intellect, a “bold and authentic” approach to building a brokerage brand not only ensures a company stands out in the marketplace but it could save money in the long term.
He believes that brands built with this approach require less money to be spent on marketing and advertising over time to generate and maintain brand awareness.
“This is because they are remembered and are clear about their proposition,” he said. “So strong branding, as well as helping you increase revenue, can also help decrease expenses over the medium to long term.”
But don't rely simply on word of mouth to see you through, especially in a low credit appetite environment.
“As one of an organisation’s most powerful assets, branding should be at the heart of most business decisions. Brands inform, differentiate, motivate and persuade and should act as a compelling roadmap for customers, employees, shareholders and third party stakeholders,” said Rowell.
And, although it might be tempting to opt for a cheaper brand design, Rowell warned this would be to the detriment of the business.
“Don’t scrimp on brand design,” he said. “There is a temptation to seek out cheap overseas online design assistance, but this often comes at a cost in terms of originality and quality. Remember your logo is often one of the first impressions your organisation makes, and poor design often lets companies down.”
Branding your business:
- Articulate the key elements of your brand and communicate these throughout your organisation. This allows your staff to understand and correctly present your brand in the market.
- Be bold in communicating your brand in the market. This is especially true if your marketing budget is small. Ideally your messaging needs to be stronger the smaller your marketing budget is. You should always try to “punch above your weight”.
- Trust the experts. Employ a branding specialist for design, not a generalist graphic designer. Think of it like the relationship between a surgeon and a GP.
- Register your trademark. In Australia this is through IP Australia.
