Can your building help you build a brand? Absolutely!

By A. Paul Mitchell, MBA

A custom designed pre-engineered structure can become a critical visual component in establishing or expanding your company’s marketing strategy.

Good marketing is a healthy combination of products, prices, distribution, promotion and a promise to solve your problem. Even in an ever-growing digital world, having a physical presence in the marketplace is becoming an underappreciated, yet essential, way to grow your brand. As long as people continue to commute from one place to another, beautiful architecture is one of the best the visual messages for your business.

Not everything in marketing today takes place in a digital landscape. Consumers are more connected to companies than ever, using technology and the internet to discover and research brands and new products in as much as for education and entertainment. What can be forgotten sometimes is the how they still ultimately want to see, touch, try and evaluate products in real life before making purchases. The physical space continues to impact purchasing decisions. Physical interaction and architecture (such as a sophisticated and elegant new pre-engineered steel building) can contribute as much to your company’s reputation as the traditional marketing messaging used to build awareness. 

And when it comes to capital investment in your business, using architecture and design to express key elements of your brand values enhances and creates greater opportunities for the rest of your traditional and digital marketing strategy. Buildings are more than an appreciating capital asset; they’re a physical demonstration of your organization’s commitment to its clients and products as well as to their community, local economy and the people who live there.

Brands and the consumer mindset 

Everything is branded. We have grown so accustomed to great-quality branding – from people’s personal brands on LinkedIn to help secure a new job or promotion, to start-up companies looking to make a name for themselves in the marketplace, and on to the internationally famous, multi-billion-dollar brands we use every day. How would your day change without your Apple iPhone, Microsoft Teams or Windows, Nike shoes, Tim Horton’s coffee and your Air Miles Mastercard to pay for everything in between?

When people think about brands, they immediately connect it with a logo, brand name, tagline and, most importantly of all, a connection to a physical experience or feeling. Did you just pause for a moment to “Just do it”?

But branding is so much more. Aside from the design elements (colours, sounds and swooshes), good branding includes values, personality, voice, positioning and experience or promise. These are the elements that turn a connection to a company’s goods or services into a successful brand that has a significant asset value on company balance sheets.

A brand’s physical presence is one aspect that can be easily overlooked, but one that affects bottom lines in very real ways. More than an office headquarters or retail space, the buildings that make up a company can be an integral part of their branding and commercial experiences. And more than just as a location to hang a company logo.

Grow your brand as you grow your space

Establishing your business in a new location can be an opportune moment to give your company’s brand a big boost. That’s because establishing positive recognition and reputation in your new community matters and there are few more visible and concrete ways to do that than with your building itself. This is not only important to create awareness among existing and prospective customers and employees, but to signal a new growth stage for the company.

A strong brand becomes a value balance sheet asset item (Nike and Apple are obvious and recognizable examples) as are fixed assets, such as capital structures like warehouses and manufacturing centres using pre-engineered steel buildings. Both improve a company’s net worth (for cash flow and financial statements) and become a tangible representation of the brand's identity and values, leaving a lasting impression on customers and creating a sense of distinctiveness.

From local to legacy

Driving or walking by an architectural wonder and being impressed by its brilliance can be a breath-taking experience. It conveys the message that your company is rock-solid, permanent, successful and a significant contributor to the local economy. The company logo atop a significant structure gets your name out far and wide and opens the door to other opportunities since it becomes so recognizable and connected to permanency. 

The day a lighted logo sign is attached to the top a building is a hallmark moment in a company’s history – for good reason. Very few companies get to mark an occasion with this level of physical signage. It’s an occasion that starts the journey towards your company’s legacy (place your name literally above the competition). Your investment in a prominent, impressive facility underscores the success of your company and builds on the promise of future success.

Enhance the strength of your brand with custom-suited design elements

Summit Steel Buildings ensures clients have input into all aspects of design and material selection, including layout, finishes, and fixtures. This high degree of customization is particularly true for businesses opting for build-to-suit projects where we collaborate with you from start to finish to create a unique, efficient and positive environment for employees, customers, and vendors. Our clients find this ‘building-business-brand’ alignment to be a competitive advantage that has tangible value when it comes to building loyalty and standing out amongst the competition. 

At Summit Steel Buildings, we understand that your building is a reflection of all you do to make your business a success. Contact our team at Summit Steel Buildings at 877-417-8335 to receive a free quote so we can get started on your next project. Call us to help bring your vision to life for everyone to see!