Building your Brand? Hire an Expert

For optimum brand recognition and success, you’ll need to rise well above the crowd. Communicate taste and quality by going with a design expert.

You hear it all the time: “You need professionals to do that.” This saying never rings truer than when it is about your own business. Many people would say it is unjustified, and that the same results can be had if we just read a few For Dummies guidebooks. This idea could not be further from the truth.

A simple example would be, “You wouldn’t build your own house, would you? You’d hire contractors, experts in the field of construction. So why not hire the same level of expertise for your business?”

Hiring professionals from the get-go helps you start off on the right foot, and will hopefully save you a lot of time and effort in the long run. Let’s look at a few aspects of business that can be done much more effectively if you hire the right people.

Shop Signs

I’ve seen many shops around the Kingdom with signs that look like they’ve been created in Microsoft Paint. I’ve also seen MANY shops that use signs with watermarked images grabbed off the Internet. Another problem that seems to be on the rise is the use of the wrong colors when it comes to advertising. It’s a well-known fact that only certain colors and combinations can be used to attract an audience’s attention.

Ad agencies used to be the de facto standard for advertising, but nowadays, a good freelancer, whether for graphic design or photography, can do wonders for your brand, and will probably be a lot more affordable than a conventional agency. One of Startup Bahrain’s members, Bader Kamal, is a great example of a young talent who has made a name for himself as the one of the Kingdom’s leading designers. Before signing the dotted line, however, ask for information on projects the freelancer has worked on to get a feel for the kind of work they have done in the past.

Websites

Many local businesses tend to go for the lowest cost possible, and their websites inevitably suffer from page under construction—yes, typos where they shouldn’t really exist. Websites have the typical “contact us” and “who we are” pages, and they’re filled to the brim with stock photos that really misrepresent the business in the worst way possible (there’s no way that all of your call center reps are blue-eyed, blond Europeans with huge smiles on their faces).

Instead of attempting website construction yourself or asking your nephew to create your site, hire a company or programmer to handle it. They can usually provide a turnkey solution for your website that includes maintenance and support. Thankfully, there are a number of established companies on the market, and quite a few startups with young talent that do amazing work. A good example of this is Kooheji Systems, a promising upstart run by a small team of young Bahrainis.

“It might sound surprising, but hiring a designer actually saves you money. It helps you avoid costly mistakes in the design of your workplace”

Design

Certain businesses, such as restaurants, have developed from simple places to get a decent meal into fully-realized experiences. This means that the lighting and ambiance play a role as important as the food itself. Therefore, getting an interior designer to handle the décor represents a definite plus for your business. You might have all the recipes, but that doesn’t mean people will come in if your restaurant doesn’t attract their attention and get them talking.

It might sound surprising, but hiring a designer actually saves you money. It helps you avoid costly mistakes in the design of your workplace, and designers have all the information you need on hand so you don’t waste time and money researching and shopping. It also gives your business that ‘wow’ factor that seems to elude most people. Design is all about taste, and judging by the work that some design houses have done here in the Kingdom, the business owner is really spoiled for choice. Dikkan, a notable local design firm led by two young Bahraini women, has worked on all kinds of projects, ranging from residential and commercial contracts to international events.

Social Media

Social media is huge help to businesses today. If done right, social media can be a huge boon, and it is (mostly) free and available to all. I’ve touched on this in a previous article, but it bears repeating that you need to walk that fine line between bombarding your followers with countless posts and barely posting anything at all.

No longer do businesses need to spend heavily on marketing; their followers do it for them, through word of mouth and recommendations. Twitter and Instagram are, quite literally, the new word of mouth. Thankfully, Bahrain has several social media experts who have made a name for themselves by promoting local businesses.

Notable Bahraini Twitter celebrities include the venerable Ali Fareed, who, thanks to Twitter, has not spent a dime on food since 2011. More power to you, Ali. Godspeed! Follow his Twitter blog, Ask Ali Fareed for food, movie, and TV reviews.

In conclusion, if your ideas seem like they need that extra “something” to make them fly, they probably do. Go get some expert help!

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