What three words describe your brand?

In today’s competitive market, having a clear brand identity is more important than ever. After all, your branding is about far more than just a logo and colour scheme; it should represent your firm’s mission, personality and core values. To test your brand identity, why not take inspiration from the online location service, what3words.

Simplicity, precision, clarity

what3words uses three common-usage words to help users find and share precise locations across the world. The app is used by thousands of businesses to boost efficiency and has helped emergency services to save lives. Now used by millions of people worldwide, the popularity of what3words can be attributed to its simplicity, precision and clarity. So, what if you tried to use just three words to pinpoint your brand’s identity?

What are your three words?

Word 1: Your purpose

Firstly, what is the purpose of your business? The answer might seem obvious – for example, you might be a law firm specialising in private wealth. Beyond that, think about what you are trying to achieve with your business. Are you hoping to empower, inspire or advise?

Word 2: Your personality

Every firm will have its own unique character and belief system, and so too will its brand. What are the core values at the heart of your business? Some firms pride themselves on their communication and collaboration, while others are defined by their commitment to clients. If your business was a person, how would you describe it? Reliable? Experienced? Professional?

Word 3: Your USP

This is perhaps the most important aspect to consider; you’ve established who you are and what you do. But what sets you apart from other law firms? Is it the people? Your service? Your knowledge?

A talking point

Here at TOMD, we of course understand that there is a lot more to branding than choosing three words. So this prompt is just designed to get you thinking about your firm’s identity. Perhaps you could invite colleagues to choose their own three words to describe the business. Their responses will help highlight any common themes, or it might become clear that there are some differences in perspectives that might be helpful to address.

The words you ultimately agree on could become part of your strapline, form the basis of your company values or feature in advertising materials you publish. More importantly, though, by fleshing out the words (or concepts) that underlie and define your firm, you will be well on the way to developing a plan to target your brand towards your key audiences.

Digital signposts

While what3words is used to direct people to physical locations, search-engine optimisation (SEO) is the key to helping people find you online. Once you have chosen the words that define your brand, the next step is to create a digital presence that clearly signposts your services to potential clients. Producing SEO-enriched content involves using keywords in your website’s content to help search engines understand what your page is about. You can find out more about SEO here.