Essential Branding Tips For Commercial Brokers

Most new brokers are so amped up about getting their business started that they forget about how important initial company branding is. Your brand will ultimately determine how successful your brokerage is in the commercial finance industry, so it’s important to build your brand correctly from the beginning. This includes, developing a proper name & tagline for your services, developing a company mission statement, policy for handling complaints, business plan, and proper marketing.

Developing a sense of trust and reliability with your brand is what will make consumers favor you over others. Here are some places to start:

 

177757607 Essential Branding Tips For Commercial BrokersResearching Your Brand Name

Seems simple enough, right? Research before selecting a name for your brokerage is probably the most important step before constructing your business. Your company name is how consumers are going to remember you and recognize what you do.

 

177757607 Essential Branding Tips For Commercial BrokersTips For Choosing A Brand Name:

Pick words or a phrase related to your services. Consumers should be able to recognize what it is you do, by your company title.

Keep it short & sweet. Your brand name shouldn’t be a sentence long. Look at some of the most successful brand names in the world (ex. UPS, Home Depot, General Electric)

– Also, keep in mind that for Google paid advertising, your website is cut off at 35 characters.

So you’ve picked a name, now let’s hit the internet and see what’s out there with your brand name already on it.

 

177757607 Essential Branding Tips For Commercial BrokersWhat To Look For:

Companies that already exist with the same name or companies with a similar name, and what their reputations are. There have been numerous occasions where research was not done before a business brand was built, website created, then to find out there was a company with the same name who had awful reviews online. This can be a huge struggle for you brand to battle bad online reviews. Save yourself the headache and the money and research your company first.

Also, beware of any copyrights of names that already exist, if you are using a popular name or phrase.

 

177757607 Essential Branding Tips For Commercial BrokersDeveloping Your Brand Mission & Philosophy

When a consumer lands on your website, what do you want them to know immediately about your business? This is where developing a mission statement can help capture your audience and lead them to choosing to work with you.

Start by researching your target audience. Find out what they search most on the internet, what websites they spend the most time on, and even where the majority of them are geographically located. Take those 3 factors and also determine who your competitors in that space are and what are they using for their mission statement.

Also be sure to include what makes you different than the others. Is it your low rates? Access to top lenders? Longer Terms? Available Product List? Include whatever makes your services more appealing than the competition in your space.

What are your client relationships like? Also consumer want to know how you handle business with your clients. Consumers look specifically for businesses that communicate directly with their consumers, are attentive, and react in a timely manner. These tactics will help inspire a sense of trust in referral sources and borrowers looking to use you as a broker.

Lastly, what are your goals as a company? Learn from mistakes you make early on and strive for new and better solutions. Every year, share you business goals with your clients or referrals to let them know where you want your brokerage to be within the year. This not only helps you set goals for yourself but also shows your consumers that you are constantly working on improving your business.

Don’t forget, you are a broker amongst many big lenders. Making your business look good is the most powerful marketing tool you have against larger more established brands, don’t set yourself back by making initial branding mistakes.