Building a brand for your business can be overwhelming, but it’s something that every entrepreneur should do in order to be successful.
In this blog post, we’ll talk about:
—- The basics of branding.
—- What it is.
—- Why it’s important.
—- How you can develop a strong brand for your business.
Let’s start by answering the most essential question…
What is branding?
Most people think that branding is just a business’ visual design— their logos, colors, mascot, etc. But it is so much more than that. It’s basically the personality and moral code or overall identity that people associate with your business. So aside from visual assets, it can also involve the quality of your products, how you deal with customers, what sets you apart from competitors, your messaging, and more.
Essentially, your brand is the culmination of your business’ image and what you stand for, people’s impressions, and experiences associated with your business.
Why is building a brand important?
Because branding is such a complex concept, building a positive brand for your business is incredibly important to help it grow. When done right, strong branding can help you:
—- Communicate & establish your business’ identity throughout different channels.
—- Build trust & customer loyalty.
—- Promote your business better and more consistently.
Building a brand for your business that resonates with your target audience can kickstart a lot of growth.
But how can you develop a strong & impactful brand for your business? Here are 5 tips to help you out.
1. Make sure your purpose is clear.
Before building your brand, you have to clarify your purpose first. What’s the deal behind your business? What’s your story? What makes you different from your competition? What are your core values? Why did you start your business in the first place? What’s your business’ unique selling point?
Answering these questions clearly helps you clarify your business’ identity. And it’s these factors that should contribute to your overall image, messaging, and the experience you want to create for your customers.
2. Don’t forget to do your research.
It’s not just about you, though. Ideally, your branding is how you want other people to perceive your business. But while you can’t control how people think, you can, however, do your best to make sure your business is as irresistible and attractive to them as possible.
You can only do that if you have a deep knowledge of your target audience and even your competitors. Learning about them can help you determine what elements or concepts to focus on, what kind of styles or colors to use, etc.
3. Make it consistent.
Once you’ve developed your branding assets— your logo, font, color scheme, messaging, etc.— make sure you integrate them consistently across all platforms. If you want people to perceive your business in a particular way, make sure that that’s the image they keep associating with you.
Don’t be afraid to use your colors, fonts, and logos on your social media, website, products, print marketing, etc. Furthermore, you want to make sure that the non-visual aspects of your brand are also consistently contributing to your positive image or the identity you want to develop. For example, if you want to be known for being a company that promotes diversity, make sure people see it in your messaging, your team composition, the people you target with your products and services, etc.
4. Review, rethink, and (don’t be afraid to) rebrand.
Here’s the thing: your branding isn’t permanent. In fact, even big companies have changed their branding over time. So periodically, make sure to look at your branding and review your assets to see if you still resonate with them.
If you find that your brand is slowly slipping into a direction that you don’t like, you can take steps to correct it and do a rebrand. Remember: there’s no shame in doing so. Change is a normal part of growing as a business.
5. Use resources and outsource.
Here’s another thing to remember: you don’t have to build a brand on your own. There are plenty of resources available online to help you develop your branding assets and learn more about how to cultivate a positive image for your business.
Here are a few you can check out:
—– The Biz Spa’s Branding Services
—– 4 Simple Ways to Refresh Your Brand
—– Rebranding Your Business: The Beauty in Growth & Changes
—– How to Create a Style Guide for Your Brand
The Biz Spa has a team of excellent creatives and marketing professionals to help you clarify and build an attractive brand for your business. Learn more about our branding services here.