Your brand is about far more than a logo and a van wrap. At InstallerSHOW, a panel of industry experts shared their advice on how tradespeople can build a recognisable brand that reflects who they are, attracts the right customers and helps them grow their businesses – here we’ve rounded up the key insights.
Building a strong brand can be one of the most powerful tools available to a tradesperson – but getting it right takes more thought than simply choosing a logo and a colour scheme.
At this year’s InstallerSHOW, a panel featuring heating engineer Steve Gray, branding specialist Sammi Coverdale, owner of Branded by Sammi, and Giovanni Barreca, founder of the GRFT Academy, explored how installers can use branding to stand out, communicate what they do and ultimately win more work.
Personal brand or company brand?
One of the first decisions for any tradesperson is whether to build a brand around themselves or create a separate identity for their business.
According to Giovanni, the answer depends largely on where you want the business to go: “If you’ve got a vision in mind of where you sit in your ecosystem, what do you want to provide, who do you want to provide it to and how do you want to position yourself. Once you establish that clearly, a personal brand can work to a point, but if your vision is to have a big business, building a very strong personal brand in the beginning can be slightly restrictive around how you grow the company brand later.”
For a sole trader or small business owner who plans to remain the face of the business, a personal brand can work extremely well. However, if the long-term ambition is to build a larger company with a team of 10, 20 or even 50 people, relying too heavily on a personal brand from the outset could make it harder to transition to a broader company identity later.
Create a brand you actually love
For Sammi, one of the most important things is to make sure you genuinely like the brand you’re creating. “If you don’t love your brand identity, how it looks, even the name, you’ll want to change it later down the line,” she said.
Her advice is to take the time to get the foundations right at the beginning. If you’re working with a designer and don’t like what they’ve created, don’t be afraid to say so. “A lot of people will say, ‘Yeah, it’s okay. I’m happy with that.’ You don’t want to be happy with it – you want to love it.”
For Steve, consistency has been a key part of building recognition around his own brand. His distinctive orange branding appears across everything from his business cards and stationery to stickers, website and van livery.
“The way it’s designed, this is special to me. Everybody knows that it’s me,” he said. The key, he added, is not to keep changing direction. “Once you’ve got a brand, you’ve got to stick with it and make sure you love it. Get it across all your platforms. If you’re getting your van wrapped, get your van in the same colours and get your livery done the same.”
Consistency helps customers recognise your business, whether they’re seeing your van on the road, your social media content or your branding on a job.
Don’t rely on AI to build your brand
AI can be a useful starting point for generating ideas, but the panel warned against relying on it to create a finished brand identity. Steve said one of the biggest problems is that AI-generated designs may look impressive on screen but aren’t necessarily suitable for real-world applications. “You can go on AI and get something unbelievably designed, but then when it comes to print, it can’t be done,” he said.
Sammi agreed, arguing that AI is useful for exploring concepts but should not replace the expertise of a professional designer. “AI is great for creating the concept behind the brand. It is fantastic at giving you ideas,” she said. “But those ideas, nine times out of 10, can’t be put into reality. They can’t be printed. They can’t be stitched.”
There’s also a risk that AI-generated branding can end up looking surprisingly similar to everyone else’s. “You think you’re doing something unreal, but your brand identity is becoming like everyone else’s,” Sammi said. Her advice is to use AI to explore ideas if you want to, but then take those ideas to a professional graphic designer who can turn them into something unique and practical.
“You haven’t even got to tell them exactly what you want. Tell them what you like, have an actual conversation, and they’ll learn about you and build something that’s for you.”
Your brand is more than a logo
A common misconception is that branding begins and ends with a logo and a colour palette. In reality, your brand should communicate something about who you are and what your business stands for. “Your brand isn’t just what you see – it’s your personality,” said Sammi.
She believes a good logo should tell a story and give customers a reason to engage with the business behind it. “The typical tradie seems to have their name and then an image of an icon to do with what they do. But your logo and your brand identity should almost be a story. It should be a talking point.”
That story starts with the business owner. By explaining your background, where you want the business to go and what you want customers to think about you, a designer can create an identity that reflects those ambitions.
Think about what you actually want to be known for
Branding should also be closely linked to your business strategy. Giovanni recommends that tradespeople think carefully about the products and services they want to be known for, rather than simply describing themselves as someone who “does everything”.
“If you’re a plumber and you say, ‘I do plumbing’, where are your sweet spots?” he asked. That could mean deciding whether you want to specialise in bathrooms, kitchens, water softeners or another particular area.
“Really establish your product range and service. What’s your favourite work? What makes you the most money? That’s where you start to refine what your brand may try to signify.”
He also encouraged tradespeople to think beyond the traditional approach of simply putting their name and a relevant icon on a logo. “If you do intend to be something bigger than that, or you want to stand out a little bit, you could just be a name, a slogan and then build on the brand. Everything about your brand after that tells people what you do.”
Your mission, values and purpose can all form part of that identity.
Use your brand everywhere
Once you’ve developed a strong identity, don’t limit it to your website or workwear. Sammi’s advice is to think of yourself as a walking, talking billboard for your business.
“Your brand can basically be put anywhere,” she said. That could mean branded workwear, coffee cups, tote bags or merchandise that your customers and their families might use in everyday life.
“If you are known for getting your coffee every morning, even at weekends, have a branded coffee cup. Go into Starbucks and hand it across. It’s going to be sat on the side. People are going to see it.”
The same principle applies to promotional merchandise. Steve has found that branded radiator keys have proved popular with his customers, while Sammi has encouraged him to think beyond the usual giveaways – including suggesting branded yo-yos for InstallerSHOW.
The message is simple: promotional products don’t have to be conventional, as long as they are useful, memorable and reinforce your identity.
Think about your brand voice
Finally, branding isn’t just visual. The words you use and the way you communicate with customers are equally important. Giovanni recommends looking at competitors, particularly businesses operating in a similar market, to understand how they position themselves and communicate their offering.
Think about the language you use on your website, in your SEO content and across social media.
“Are you talking to a layperson so that your consumer understands what you’re talking about if they’re homeowners and the general public?” he asked. “Or do you need to come across very high-end and technical if you’re dealing with commercial, industrial or specialist people?”
Finding the right tone of voice, he said, is just as important as getting the logo and company name right. “Once you’ve established that, it starts to pull together as one thing,” he said.
The bottom line
For tradespeople looking to build a stronger business, branding shouldn’t be an afterthought. The best brands are consistent, recognisable and authentic – and they reflect not only what a business does today, but where it wants to go in the future. Whether you choose to build a personal brand or a company identity, the key is to understand who you are, what you want to be known for and who you want to attract.
Get those foundations right, create something you genuinely love, and then make sure your brand is consistently visible wherever your customers might see you.
