By Startups are the lifelong dreams of entrepreneurs. If you are one of them, then this article is for you.
The innovative idea that you have come up with, no matter how good, no one knows about it other than your friends and family. Branding is the way to convince the masses and make them as excited as you are about your product.
Now the question arises: how to build a brand? Don’t worry, we will tell you all about it, but first, let’s clear up some misconceptions. There are a lot of beginners who confuse branding with marketing. Marketing is what a company says about itself; on the other hand, branding is all about what people say about you. Due to a lack of understanding of the basics of branding, more than half of startups in the US fail after five years.
Good branding is the key difference between the companies who excel and the ones who fail miserably. It would help if you branded your idea so people can connect to your product as the best possible option available in the market.
Here are the following steps you need to take to transform your business idea into a successful brand:
Table of Contents
Set A Company Vision
Before doing anything, your aim should be setting up a brand voice and decide what your company is all about. To do so, you need to make sure that your tone aligns with the company vision perfectly. The vision should be something that connects the brand to the target audience to relate to the brand.
Never follow the competitors, or else, you will never be able to build a unique personality of your brand. Your goal should be standing high above the market, not beside it. A consumer should consider your product over every other option available, which can only happen if you are unique.
Identify The Market Gap And Build Consumer Base
The product you are looking to launch has a well-established market with many key players already in it. If the product is introduced randomly in the market without concrete planning, chances are it will miserably fail.
An entire market is a huge space, and you need to find gaps. In simpler words, you need to build your consumer base. It is vital to identify the actual consumers who will be interested in your offerings; making a brand strategy is possible only after you know about that segment because you will be positioning your brand according to the interest of that particular audience.
Let’s assume that you are looking to enter the clothing business. It is a vast industry where there are thousands of options to choose from. You need to decide on a couple of factors before choosing the right market segment for your product:
- Are you going to serve men, women, or children?
- Whether your offerings will be best suited for teenagers, adolescents, or adults?
- Are your offerings formal or casual?
- Do you want to position yourself as a luxurious brand or an inexpensive clothing line?
- What is the innovation factor of your apparel?
- How are you different from other brands?
- What is going to be the tone of your brand?
- How to build a brand that can set you apart from the rest?
After answering all the above questions, you are now ready to build a brand strategy that will generate a need for your product. Knowing your target audience makes it easier for the brand to connect with their consumers; they can easily depict the needs and wants of their consumer base.
Have A Story To Tell
Humans are emotional beings and are naturally inclined toward storytelling. In order to gain their attraction and make sure they listen to your offerings, you need to stir the magic of storytelling into your branding.
The company vision provides a strong base for the narrative that you will build around your brand. Remember, the consumer is always the protagonist, and the brand is the story itself!
Build a strong narrative on how the brand is connected with the consumers throughout their lifecycle. A personalized brand message designed specifically for your consumer base will do wonders for your brand; establishing an emotional connection with the audience helps a brand to attract loyal customers.
Build A Strong Perception
Brands are not what they say about themselves; instead, it is how they are perceived. Perceptions don’t exist; they need to be shaped. Your ability to build brand recognition depends on how convincing your branding is and whether or not you use reputation management services to shape public perception.
There is a fine line between reality and perception. A brand may be excellent, but due to weak communication, it is not perceived as such. A powerful branding has the capability to blur the line between reality and perception, making your brand look grand at every stage.
Be Visible And Consistent
How to build a brand that is evergreen? Simply, be consistent with your branding. It will make your brand more visible and memorable. Brand presence across all mediums create long-lasting experiences that create strong recognition and recall value.
Brands with purpose greatly influence the people and leave their everlasting impression. When we talk about consistency, the importance of delivering quality is the most crucial aspect; the day you fail to deliver on your promise, you will be forgotten in no time.
Having a digital presence can make huge differences in brand visibility. A well-functioning and flawless website can prove to be a great asset for boosting your visibility across the digital world. Moreover, the availability of multiple social media platforms has made it easier for brands to interact with their prospects on a more personal level.
Wrapping It Up
If you are able to pull off every step discussed above, the chances are that your dream will turn into reality.
Unlike a marketing campaign, brand building is not a project that has a start and an end date; instead, it is a process of wearing a seed until it’s a fully grown tree strongly rooted to the ground.
Most importantly, always remember, great things may take time to happen, so no need to get disappointed if things don’t work out in the first go, be consistent with your efforts, and you will eventually achieve your goal.
Author Name: Saif Malik
Author Bio: Currently managing the digital content at Techxide, Saif Malik is a writer at heart who looks at every aspect of life as a story looking to be told.
