Exclusive: A goal without a design – Branding for security companies

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Branding within the security industry is not a subject that is frequently discussed. Security companies are often focused on what services they are going to provide, how they will deliver it and as a result unintentionally neglect one of the most important aspects of growing their business – developing a unique and recognisable brand.

Security businesses need to start coming out of their shells and connecting with the outside world, through social media and other online initiatives. Having a brand just as a check mark is not enough. Your company’s branding is a ‘living entity’ and needs to be consistently improved and updated. As a security company scales, changes and grows – the brand needs to evolve simultaneously.

This article will briefly share why a security company’s branding is beyond a creative logo and provide you with few useful tips that can get you started.

Branding and brand management

I am often asked, what is the difference between ‘branding’ and ‘brand management’? In brief, branding is the process of building and creating a brand, while brand management is focused on monitoring and maintaining it. To stay relevant, your company’s brand needs to be first properly designed and once created, continuously managed.

Your brand is a ‘living entity’, almost an identity and it will need continual maintenance. It will be affected by many external factors such as global development, trends, politics, incidents, present occurrences and most importantly your customers’ feedback. When your brand is managed successfully, it will help to:

  1. Reduce client churn and increase loyalty
  2. Attract new audiences and help gain more online visibility that will lead to revenue increase
  3. Promote your services and interact more with your clients. Client feedback is extremely valuable, having good data will help you design attractive service packages that fit your clients’ needs
  4. Enable you to increase fees for your services
  5. Develop a trustworthy reputation in the marketplace

 

Benefits of a strong brand

What many fail to realise is that a logo is not a company’s brand. It is an essential element, but it mainly acts as an identifier for a company. Having a strong brand will become a natural door opener and resource for a security company, since it will enable more opportunities. Here are some benefits that might derive from an effective brand:

Branding gets you out there

It will enable more visibility and will create exposure to potential prospects. In fact, consumers are much more likely to purchase services from companies that have a polished and professional image trusted by the marketplace.

For instance, a website is not just a pamphlet that describes what services your company offers, it is most likely the primary gate for new leads and one of the best resources that can provide organic traffic, if implemented effectively. Very often small and medium sized businesses neglect to invest in a website that has an advanced copywriting and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). Do not make that mistake, optimising your website will take months but it will breed results. If you cannot afford to invest in help with SEO, write blog posts instead. They can be very effective when it comes to generating organic traffic to your website and making it rank higher in search engines (Google, Bing, Duck Duck Go).

Branding creates trust within the marketplace

Ask yourself – how will you ensure that your security business stands out from your competitors? Finding customers in today’s saturated market can be not only frustrating but also very expensive, especially at the early stages of the business. You need to realise that in such a globalised world and due to technological advancements, you are no longer competing on a local scale but with companies from all over the world. Having a reputation of a trusted and genuine service will inspire confidence and make your company stand out.

Branding can improve employee pride and engagement

When an employee is part of a company that has a strong brand and stands behind it, employees will feel more satisfaction with their job and will experience a higher degree of pride in their work. Arguably, when working for a reputable brand, it makes working for the organisation more gratifying and fulfilling.

Branding will attract new clients

A strong brand creates a positive impression of your security company. Consumers will likely pick your organisation to do business with, due to familiarity and steadfastness.

A good branding and company image can lead to reducing the Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) and increase the growth of your customer base that will automatically lead to higher revenues. If your clients are satisfied with your service, they will spread the word about your services among their peers, stakeholders or business partners.

Branding increases your chances for revenue growth

A strong and established brand will have high Return on Investment (ROI) over time. This does not happen in one day but if you start today, results will come eventually. Persistence is key. At the end of the day, you need to be resourceful. You can simply start by creating a LinkedIn Company Page and start inviting your connections to follow it. At this point in time, LinkedIn has close to 600 million registered professionals that can be reached for free!

First steps to starting a company brand?

When you are ready to begin your branding journey and establish an online presence, the first step should be to collaborate with a brand expert, that will examine your target audience, evaluate your competition and establish your brand requirements. One very important part to remember when beginning to create your brand is that – it needs to be authentic.

Depending on your business, you need to find a solid set of questions that will allow you to reflect on what you want to achieve with your brand. These are three examples of questions that you can use to kick start your reflection process:

  1. What does your company stand for? What is your value proposition? Why do you do what you do? Your “why” will become your authentic brand.
  2. What sets you apart from your competition? Why should customers choose your services?
  3. What emotions do you want to trigger in your prospects and clients when they see your brand?

 

Your authentic brand needs to be able to deliver the following:

  1. Spike interest and curiosity
  2. Prove that you are a trustworthy service provider and a subject matter expert
  3. Act as a motivator for your audience
  4. Reaffirm your credibility as a security provider
  5. Deliver a concise and clear message on your vision
  6. Builds an emotional connection with your prospects and current clientele

 

Conclusion

A strong brand will bring in new clients and potentially open up new revenue streams. However, before you get to that point you first need to prove that your company is more than just words and promises. You have to work on developing your image and reputation. Websites, logos and pictures are mandatory mediums that will help attract a client’s attention, but it is the customer experience that will make them exchange money for your services. Continuously work on your content and monitor its effectiveness, if you can’t measure your progress you will not know how to improve it. Form a concrete plan because a goal without a design is just a wish.

branding
Suzanna Alsayed

By Suzanna Alsayed, MDEM, Founder of Evolutz and Hilt International Security

Evolutz LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/evolutz/

Suzanna Alsayed LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzannaalsayed/

Evolutz website coming soon – Follow Evolutz on LinkedIn for website launch updates!

Biography: Suzanna Alsayed, MDEM, is a trilingual emergency management and security specialist that was awarded the IFSEC Global 2019 “Top Influencers in Security & Fire” in the ‘One to Watch’ category. She has over seven years’ experience in various roles within the public and private sectors with expertise in facilitating multi-disciplinary projects involving internal and external stakeholders. In 2020, Suzanna founded Evolutz, an independent brand, design and website development agency. The aim is to elevate the security industry branding standards and help security companies and professionals put their best foot forward, expand their client reach and increase revenue. Suzanna also founded Hilt International Security, a holistic security firm – with the goal to work with different international platforms, in order to protect people and assets worldwide.

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