Branding is an essential component of start-up, but its importance can sometimes be lost in the midst of all the other priorities of running a business. Factor in branding’s long-term outlook as well as the challenges of measuring its impact in the short run, and it can be tempting to leave it to the side for the moment while you address more pressing business concerns.
Here are some quick tips and guidelines for developing your company’s branding that are no less important than other start-up priorities.
What is branding?
Most people think of a company logo when it comes to branding. While your company logo is an important component of your business branding, the scope of branding goes beyond the visual elements of your company. Branding encompasses not only your company’s visual identity but also people’s overall perception of your brand. These perceptions include several elements including intangibles such as brand promises, brand personality, brand reputation, customer experience, and also their expectations of the brand.
Why branding is important
The importance of branding in your marketing strategy is undeniable even for start-up companies. Your brand affects every aspect of how people perceive your company. Branding builds trust, recognition, loyalty and reputation.
According to Accenture, 66% of people say that brand culture and transparency attract them to buy from a brand, and 62% of people want companies to champion causes that people are passionate about. This illustrates the impact of strong branding. Your brand has the potential to explain everything about your company, from its products or services, community relations, employee relations, promises made, promises kept, values, and even social goals.
Take Nike, a brand that utilizes its strong brand identity in every marketing strategy. The Nike brand is recognized not only by their iconic red logo. In fact, their short slogan “Just Do it” is easily recognized by most people.
Developing Brand Identity
What is brand identity?
Your brand identity doesn’t just include the visual elements associated with your brand. It consists of what the company says, its values, and how it communicates those values. Coca-Cola is one company with a strong brand identity: people instantly recognize the product when they encounter various elements of the Coca-Cola brand, including the red and white colors of the logo, the distinctive shape of the bottle, and some of the slogans they have used over the years (such as in 1979, “Have a Coke and a Smile, and in 2016, “Taste the Feeling”).
Why is it important?
Your brand identity is the set of elements that your company creates to portray itself to the public. Because a strong brand identity has a strong impact on your marketing messages, visual identity, and how you interact with the public, your brand identity plays a very important role in shaping the perception of your customers and potential customers.
To understand the impact of a strong brand identity, let’s look at the company Apple. Apple has a brand message that focuses on simplicity and user experience, and this message is consistently reflected in all of its marketing and branding, from its simple yet distinctive logo, to its luxurious in-store experience, and user-friendly interface.
How do you develop brand identity?
1. Outline your brand purpose
The first step in the brand development process may seem the easiest of all, but it’s worth taking the time to consider your brand purpose.
Ask yourself:
- What problem does your product or service solve?
- What makes my brand unique?
- Why should people care about your brand?
- How is your mission reflected in your brand purpose?
- Does your brand purpose support the brand promises you are making?
Delving into your brand purpose will provide important knowledge to clarify how your brand can connect with customers and provide valuable guidance when in the process of developing your brand.
2. Researching rival brands
Why spend time researching your rival brands? Researching the competition will show you how your rivals position their brands and the type of branding strategies they use. You will also get more information about their target audience and how they respond to your rival’s branding and communications. This will add to your understanding of how you can differentiate your product or service. This will have a huge impact on the development of your messaging strategy.
3. Define your target audience
You can’t create strong branding until you know who your brand is speaking to. When it comes to target audience, bigger is not always better. In fact, if you narrow down your target audience more, your branding strategy will be more effective. Things that can narrow down the target audience include:
- Demographic factors such as age, gender, and occupation
- Target audiences of similar brands
- Sales and marketing statistics
- Your customer discussions and surveys
- By being more specific and narrowing your target audience, you can create messages that seem to speak directly to customers which is very beneficial for you
4. Define your brand personality
Your brand has a personality, for example, it might be playful, serious, traditional, or adventurous. It’s important to determine what your branding personality is because it has a considerable impact on your branding strategy.
Whether it’s the visual language that defines your logo or business cards, the customer service you provide, or your social media interactions, knowing your brand personality will allow you to deliver a consistent and authentic message across your business.
5. Developing your brand story and message
It’s true what they say: behind every great brand, there is a consistent story and message. By telling the story of your brand’s journey from conception to market, you can connect emotionally with your target customers. Knowing what your brand message allows you to develop consistency in your brand voice across all your marketing and operational channels.
- Questions you can ask yourself about story and messaging include:
- What motivated me to create this business?
- What are the highlights of the journey I have taken to build my business?
- What philosophies guide me and the direction of my business?
- In what ways do my products and services reflect the core values of my business?
With the importance of branding as explained above, Sagara Technology will help you develop your company brand from the smallest details such as the basic brand color to the logo that will become the face of your brand. You can be sure that your company will be different from others!
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