There are a lot of thoughts that enter your mind when thinking about starting your own brand, there is so much to do and it is important to develop a plan, don’t worry, we have got you covered! Below is a guide to build your own brand using some simple steps.
There is so much that we hear about “building a brand”, “brand recognition” and other terms; all of us like to discuss which clothing brand is our favorite or which brand of hair care products we prefer, but have we ever pondered about what branding actually is? There is so much that goes into building a brand, fundamentally, a “brand” is not really a concrete thing or even a collection of things. A brand is not a logo, or a mascot, or a spokesperson. A brand is not a website. A brand is a feeling. It is the feeling that our customers or potential customers have about the sum of their interactions with our business. The term “brand” in the wider culture can more or less be thought of as self-representation. That’s true for businesses too but the concept of brand identity in business refers to something slightly more complicated, and the fate of much more than one person hinges on the quality of the branding. Other than just your name and logo, your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room. It lives as a concept in the hearts and minds of your customers. That doesn’t mean it’s not under your control, because you can and will shape that brand with your actions, your messaging, your communication, how you interact and communicate with your customers, and so on. But for your efforts to be successful you need a plan and that’s what we call a Brand Strategy.
We recognize the importance of brand identity and know that if our brand is recognizable and represents us accurately, this will lead to sales, which may translate to further recognition, which will lead to even more sales. But achieving this is harder than it sounds. The brand’s visual elements which the audience sees are only half of the story. Less tangible assets such as corporate culture, how the executive team functions, and also how employees conduct themselves are all part of a brand’s DNA.
PC: Ellevate Network
KEYS TO BUILD A SUCCESSFUL BRAND – ‘ALL ABOUT ‘BRANDING’
Most brands fail at what they mean to represent or accomplish, and that is due to how clueless many small business executives and entrepreneurs are about what branding is. Most people think of branding as only “the logo,” but a logo is just the beginning of a brand’s visual aspect (that also includes the website, marketing materials, and ad copy — which in turn includes taglines, marketing/PR/sales copy, and advertisements. It is crucial to have a vision and a plan to build your brand once you have started with it, below are some ways to build a successful brand:
1. BE UNIQUE AND INNOVATIVE – It is very important to stand out from the crowd and research who your target audience is. What are your top competitors doing in terms of their site look and how are they expressing themselves? Find some core commonalities, and simultaneously prepare to identify where you can innovate and differentiate.
2. DEVELOP A COMPANY VISION AND CULTURE – Remember that the first and foremost thing you need to realize is that your brand is your priority, you have to respect it and build some core values so that your audience and clients also see it as their priority. All your hiring and your onboarding processes should be conducted keeping this culture in mind.
3. BE CONSISTENT AND PATIENT WITH YOUR BRAND – Take care of your brand like you would take care of a baby, everything from PR to advertising should be managed carefully and take on every outreach initiative with care. Do not lose hope when you don’t see immediate results, learn to be consistent and patient with time.
4. PUT PEOPLE FIRST – To begin with, you need to understand that your brand is more than a company, it takes time and effort to build a brand; People do business with people. A strong CEO brand, executive brand, or personal brand helps build a positive reputation and prestige overall. Nearly everyone prefers working with businesses that are people-oriented and actually care about their customers. It might be through embodying a people-first attitude in all that you and your employees do.
ARE ‘BRAND IDENTITY’ AND ‘BRANDING’ THE SAME?
Branding is the strategy you use to reflect on and shape how you want people to interact with your company. It’s how you want them to feel and the messaging you want to communicate to them. These concepts dictate the strategy for your identity.
Identity is the tangible look of the brand based on the strategies or plans you created at the foundation of your brand. It’s how you want to visually communicate. It includes things like logo, colors, monograms, typefaces, slogans, and taglines.
A well-thought robust branding strategy will guide your business decisions, keep the team on the same page, help you be coherent and consistent, and most importantly, it will help you align with the objective or vision you hold.
