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6 New Strategies To Building A Brand From Scratch
“Building a brand” is a term that gets tossed around a lot these days, but how would you define branding? To put it simply, building a brand is equal to building your business’ unique identity.
There are many aspects to building a strong brand in today’s society and this blog post will cover them all! We will go over the four steps to building your brand, how you can legally build your brand as well as why building a strong brand strategy is so important for ALL businesses.
You’ll also learn about the difference between building a business and building a brand online. If you’re ready to get started on your brand identity, then I’m ready to help you!
Building a Brand: What Does it Mean to Brand Your Business?
How would you build a brand from scratch?
When most people think about starting a business, they know that they need to create a brand identity for the business, but they forget about the most important mission : the potential customers.
Let’s discuss the two steps in this process:
- You want to research and define what problem you’re solving for your target audience by creating a customer avatar. This includes identifying the pain points our customers are experiencing so we can create something that addresses them. They are what we consider our “target market”. We want to determine exactly who they are early on because they are the most important aspect of the brand building process .
- The second step in brand building is positioning how our product solves those exact customers’ problems and even more importantly, why they should choose your products or services over other competitors on the market.
Nowadays recognizing what solutions are out there is easy for anyone who wants to find them because of all the information readily available through Google. It’s in realizing WHY you or your small business has that better solution – one that saves time and/or money for your customers .
“Building a business is always going to focus on solving people’s problems. PERIOD!”
A company doesn’t go out and solve everyone’s problem though- they specialize in solving the particular problems of their target audience.
Brand building, on the other hand, is about creating a consistent experience …. a story, that aligns with a company’s values. It creates a sense of exclusiveness for it’s customers & target audience. As such, the brand building process also can focus on creating scarcity because that is what makes consumers want what they can’t have.
Building “brand identity” has little to do with a business’s operations. Let’s be clear… This is more than just a mission statement!
“A successful brand is built by the actions of the company, their values and the lives they touch.”
Building a strong company starts with building a good brand. And then there is that whole other thing called building an empire. Those are two very different things!
The difference between building a successful business versus just “branding” may seem slight, but it actually makes all the difference in how you are perceived by your current and prospective customer.
Every brand identity stands as more than just a symbol or logo (although these can play parts).
It stands instead as a wordless expression… a visual of who you are!
What are some examples of a successful brand name product & it's generic competitors?
Like, What sets Nike apart from Asics?
A few of you might say popularity or price… which is partially true. I don’t know how you would define the differences, but for me, the key factor is quality!
For example, Nike associates its products with star athletes, expecting customers to transfer their emotional attachment from the athlete to the product. For Nike, it’s not just the shoe’s features that sell the shoe. Defining your brand identity is like a journey of business self-discovery.
Also , if you take a look at Nike’s website and ads , it keeps the same typeface and type style throughout all aspects of the business — and it works wonders for them.
You gotta be creative like Nike when it comes to branding.
What Are The 4 Steps of Building A Brand?
- The first step to building a strong brand , is to make it clear what sets your small business apart by understanding the motivation behind a customers’ purchase.
- Define your core values. This is the process of determining and clarifying who is most important to your brand. Who they are as consumers , why they do what they do, and their intentions behind every decision. Define the right selling path. Take a look at who you are as a company and define how that fits with your industry trends, strengths, and challenges. Identify examples that set you apart from your competitors — what traits need to stay the same, which ones can grow or shrink if they don’t have the potential for market growth? These beliefs will inform how you define things like ‘company vision’ or ‘brand voice.’
- The second step is to create memorable and detailed marketing messaging/advertising that appeal to this motivation. Share inspired stories that address the target market. Reminding yourself of what makes people want to buy will help you when considering your brand’s style.
- Step three are design tactics like visual elements, color palette, voice tone,& value proposition . The key here is to represent this marketing message in cohesive and consistent ways across channels including social media and PR. These all work together in unison for maximum profit potential as they apply the same recognizable creative language throughout all of them. You definitely don’t want to have a different brand image for each social media channel. . Coca-Cola’s products are recognizable by their timeless designs, fonts, images, and colors which leaves customers feeling welcomed with each sip of Coke or Sprite. If you’re looking for some tips on branding your small business then take note from one of history’s most successful brands who offers excellent examples through its brand marketing efforts.
- Step four is building partnerships with other brands or individuals who are similarly aligned in terms of values and style. Also build out your digital content library to tell the story of why you’re so great to work with. You’ll also want to be creating an emotional bond with your target audience and keep them enthralled.. You deserve more than just one person’s voice telling people how awesome you are! Create a team around this spirit! Find others who share the same vision & mission as you. Get together either online or offline to provide support for one another and increase visibility of what’s important to YOU!
How Do You Develop A Brand Strategy?
The best way to start creating a brand strategy is to decide how you want your target audience to perceive your business image. You want to create certain emotions within them that they associate only with your product or services.
A successful branding campaign also takes into account the intended target customers. Every business has its target audience- something that sets them apart from another company doing similar work- but those are going to respond differently based on who’s reaching out, where they reside geographically in the world and which type of media they consume online.
- Build a personal brand mantra on social media ! – Consider the qualities that make you stand out.
- Put your personality in your messaging. What are your own skills, experiences online? Build on these and maintain a steady effort at building further experience to develop your own brand identity in your field.
- Network with industry influencers and business owners – Reach high up to achieve greater goals with more networking opportunities from which you can draw support.
- Take time to research who’s involved in what and when before making any connections so as not to waste anyone’s time or annoy an influencer unnecessarily.
- Develop a visual identity for your brand – A recognizable and identifiable logo can be of great assistance in constantly reminding others of who you are, what you represent, and the service you provide..
2 Marketing Strategy Tips:
- Create a brand statement by pairing a simple inspirational message with a qr code on the back of the card that leads to your website with digital content and free tips. The cards should display your logo and color palette. This strategy is the perfect example of how to to develop a strong visual brand identity while at the same time advertising to potential customers your simple, well organized system.
- Research the competition and their sales process. Ask yourself ” How can I create a brand identity that sets me apart from what they are doing?”
Building your small business’ unique brand identity can help establish credibility and professionalism in your field. A focused, consistent visual style will make it easier for people to identify with you and remember what you have to offer when they need similar service.
A well executed branding strategy will position you as an authority in your industry. You’ll also be able to create more meaningful relationships with customers by building trust through personal branding that will extend beyond just selling a product or service..
How Do I Legally Brand My Business?
Building a brand legally may sound like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. It definitely going to take time though.
Rome wasn’t built in a day!
Building a brand is not just about making your company the best looking, it’s about ensuring that you’re following the law.
That means keeping careful track of your business name, logo, trademarks, copyrights, and domain names. You need to do an extensive search to confirm that no one else is already using your brand name in association with whatever service you plan on offering.
If they are, or if you miss any significant trademark protections along the way, then anyone can come along and use your work or advertise similar services under their own registered trademark – which would lead people who otherwise thought they were purchasing from you towards them instead.
This will compromise your business’ image ; it could even result in a lawsuit over copyright infringement (or other such intellectual property violation).
To legally establish either offline or online, make sure your brand has never been copyrighted before by looking at the US Patent and Trademark Office website . If it hasn’t, than apply for one!
It would also be wise to register as an LLC (limited liability corporation) with the IRS .
After all those steps have been taken than register your domain name for your website. Before I go on, I’m going to break it down into 6 actionable steps:
- Choose Your Name for availability
- Choose your business structure – Sole proprietor/DBA,LLC, INC (S or C corp), or a non-profit
- Chose your state and register with the secretary of said state and got to IRS.GOV to get your ein #
- Appoint a registered agent
- Register for taxes.
- Acquire Licenses
After that, you’ll just need to create your website and build your online presence.
Building your brand is not an overnight process. It takes time, patience and a lot of hard work – but the payoff can be worth it! The most important thing to remember when you are building your brand identity is that there’s no one-size-fits all solution for how to go about this process.
What works for one company might not apply as well in another situation, so make sure you understand what aspects of branding are relevant in your case and which ones aren’t before making any branding decisions.
The first step to brand building is defining what it means for you. What does branding mean to you? What personality is attached to your story and mission statement? Is it just about a logo, or is it about the quality of your product? Or maybe it’s all about how well-known your company name has become in your industry – and how it stands out from competitors.
Whatever definition resonates most with you will be important as you move forward through the different aspects of developing a successful brand identity strategy.
It is definitely important to stand out in the crowd so that you’re not just another business trying to make sales without consistent focus on the customers.
A strong brand is what makes your business unique on the internet–it defines everything from your color palette to fonts, as well as logos and marketing. When people see your brand name they should know right away what kind of products or services you offer without even reading anything else about your brand .
In this article we talked about how to define a brand and go through four steps in brand building . I also give you some tips on how to build a brand identity.
I want you to always remember, when you start the process to design your brand identity, website and logo, to ask yourself questions like: Will my target audience resonate with this brand identity? Does my brand’s mission statement reflect my personality and focus on the customer? Does my story help me stand out from my competitors?
When building a brand from scratch, these key questions will help you get creative with your messaging an with your marketing.
Let me know which elements of brand building feels right for you at this point! I can help get started with building your brand identity by booking a consultation!
We can dive into some questions like these together so we can figure out how to develop your brand identity online and design a brand strategy tailored just for your company !
