What do people think of when they hear your company's name or see your logo? If you don't know and people you ask don't know what you're about, it's time to update your brand. If you're just starting out in your business, this is a great time to establish your brand identity – how do you want people to think of you, your product and your business?

Your brand includes your logo, the colors in your logo, the colors in your full color business cards, your choice of font and most importantly – your message. You need to create an engaging brand that people will remember and will think positively about.

Follow these guidelines to create an engaging brand image:

Distinguish your brand from your competition. Every time your customers and potential customers see your custom business cards, your Web site or one of your brochures – they're experiencing your brand. You need to make sure your logo, your image, your font and everything else about your marketing materials is different from your competition.

To distinguish yourself from your competitors, you need to do a competitive analysis. Clip your competitors' ads, check out their Web sites, pick up a brochure or one of their custom business cards. Then compare your marketing materials to your competitors' – what makes yours different? Play that difference up in all of your marketing materials.

Include benefits and promise value in your marketing message. Once you know what your competitors are offering, you can offer something unique to your business or product. Make sure that you utilize your business card printing options – use the back side of your business cards to list your benefits to customers. People want to know what your product will do for them – what problem will you solve? Spell it out for them and promise to give them the solution they're craving.

Position yourself in the market. When consumers are deciding what brand of product to buy, especially with big-ticket items, they consider what life will be like when they own that product. Consumers will look at Web site reviews about your product; they'll research you and your competitors, and will ask their family and friends for opinions. You need to deliver on your promises and provide good customer service so that your customers will write good reviews about you and tell their friends and family about you. These reviews can push your market position higher above your competition. When you hand out your full color business cards, hand out a few at a time to individuals so they can pass on the extras to their friends and family.

Keep your message consistent. Whether someone sees a television ad, a billboard, a brochure or a business card, your message should have the same feel across all these media. To keep things consistent, you can consult an online business card printing company – generally they can provide more than just business card printing services. Online business card printing companies can print brochures and other print materials. Staying with one company for all your materials will help keep your message consistent. When your materials are printed, they'll be printed on the same printer time and again which means you'll get the same quality and same production materials every time.