Why Branding Your Backend Systems Matters

I get asked this question all the time. And it usually stems from our Microsoft 365 Audit Reports we do for clients. The very first section of our reports covers branding, and we place this before security! It catches many people off-guard as they expect a tech company to go hard on the cybersecurity angle. I mean no-one wants their systems to get hacked, so that's usually the first lever used to encourage action, right?

We take a different approach.

Your Brand is Your Identity

One of the first things you do in business is to work to establish your brand. You pick a business name, create a logo, get a domain, then build your website and social media presence. Every business has a brand, even if it uses the name of the founder. It's what use to differentiate yourself form others in your industry or area. Yet your brand is more than just a logo or website. It's a set of values and promise of trust to your clients. They buy from you because they trust you. They see your name, logo, or email address and immediately feel confident that you will deliver on the promise you've worked hard to create.

Your brand is your identity, but it also a symbol of trust for your clients.

So why do so many businesses fail to use every opportunity to display that brand identity? Apple uses every opportunity they can to put their logo prominently on their products. Walk into a busy café where people often sit and work on their laptops and you will be greeted by a sea of Apple logos.

Many popular systems allow you to upload your logo and may even allow you to change the theme to match your brand colours. Microsoft 365 has many areas where you can apply your branding. Our experience is that few organisations take advantage of these features due to a lack of awareness or being deemed unimportant.

It's Just a Backend System

The reason most businesses ignore these branding opportunities is that don't believe it provides any benefit. Most of the people using Microsoft 365 are your staff, not your clients. Why bother is the typical response.

I always counter with "Why do you brand and style your office space?"

Businesses spend time, money, and effort to create a great work environment for their teams. Adding logos, using your brand colours, and displaying company imagery & values can help create business alignment to your vision. And that's the point of applying branding to your backend systems. It helps your team understand that the system they are accessing is an important part of your business. It also creates a sense of home or belonging; your team knows they are in the right place.

We can also use branding to improve security by providing clues to assist your team detect the most nefarious form of cyber-attacks—phishing. These attacks try to trick you into entering your login credentials to a hacker's system. By using branding, we can place your logo on a login screen.

Don't get me wrong, it's not perfect and some hacking groups have even worked out how to fake this. Yet, it does help. But more importantly, it helps your team know they are logging into the right place. And you can extend this to add inspirational and motivational backgrounds to help set the tone and mood for your team. I've had many comments about the impact this one small change has on team culture.

Clients Still See the Backend

There is a myth that clients never see behind the scenes of a business. This may be true in terms of the inner workings of your business, but various part of your backend operations with be exposed directly and indirectly to your clients. In the case of Microsoft 365, your clients will see your brand, or lack thereof, whenever you share a set of files via SharePoint or OneDrive (branding is hidden when sharing individual files). You can even change the theme. Instantly your clients are now greeted by your trusted business identity.

With hybrid workforces, we see more of the back-office than ever before thanks to video meetings. Sometimes these video calls share more than we intend (2020 offered some hilariously embarrassing bloopers). Both Zoom & Teams provide many opportunities to express and display your brand. And this goes beyond virtual backgrounds. In Microsoft Teams we use a custom theme that changes the waiting page and even the highlight colours within a call. People always comment on our branding when they join one of our Teams Calls.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

An image can convey more information is a shorter amount of time than a bunch of words or letters. It you look and many Microsoft Teams environments you will see hundreds or little icons with one or two letters inside and a random colour assigned. These icons provide little value. Sure, you may just use to these blobs of colour and letters to help associate each with a person or collaboration space. However, they do not create any emotional impact. They are just "meh".

Adding images to your teams will quickly create a sense of ownership and care. It's much like those team members that bring in family photos and other trinkets to make their space feel comfortable. The same goes for profile photos. It is very hard to connect with someone who you work with remotely when you cannot see their face or personality. I personally make a point of using video as much as I can, but for those times I cannot, my profile image is there so others can connect with me rather than my initials.

Why Does This Matter?

Branding is more than just putting your logo in the corner. It's about celebrating your unique personality and identity. Your business personality is communicated through your branding. Your customers experience your brand through your brochures, marketing, and website. They buy into your unique business personality. The people who are at the forefront of personifying this brand are your team. Branding your backend systems, like Microsoft 365, help create a stronger connection for your team to that brand. And your customers will see that connection, even if it's a bit of an overshare on a Teams Meeting.

Don't ignore branding your back-end systems...it's important.