How To

How to Brand Your Business?

Effective branding can define which clients a company interacts with, the nature of its services, and how it distinguishes itself from competitors. 

The following outline shows five key elements you should consider in the early phases of establishing a brand for your business, which can influence bigger metrics for your business, like your average order value and lifetime customer value. It also includes essential steps for maintaining consistent branding over time. 

1. Determine a target audience

A target audience is a group of consumers you want to purchase your product or service. Determining a target audience is the first step in establishing your market niche. Target audiences also allow you to focus on a particular type of customer with specific qualities, like age, interests, or gender.

Targeting a broad range of consumers can be a valuable part of the learning process, especially if you are unsure which demographic the bulk of your consumers will fit. Once a buying pattern begins, collect as much data as possible to see if the client group has any similar traits. 

One helpful tool for learning more about a customer base is analyzing their social media profiles and using analytics to measure their post engagements.

2. Research competitors

Competitive research allows you to see what your competitors are doing to succeed. It involves recognizing a competitor’s weaknesses and strengths and how they factor into performance. Researching competitors also helps identify characteristics or trends overlooked early on.

Some of the primary benefits of competitor research include:

• Better understanding a market: Research lets you establish a thorough marketing plan by identifying holes in your initial strategy. It allows you to see how your competitors target a niche group and their actions to succeed.
• Marketing improvement: Competitor research helps identify your competitors’ marketing plans and understand why they are effective. This area might help you identify a particular call to action that works well for someone else. It also allows you to plan for the future by sharpening your marketing strategies through product or service improvement.
• Identifying gaps: This concept allows you to recognize a group of untargeted people. For example, recognizing a new demographic that competitors do not target could open up an entirely new market niche for your business. 

3. Differentiate your products or services

Effective business differentiation can create incredible growth opportunities, especially if you’re still in the early stages of establishing your brand. Without a distinguished product or service, companies fall into a pool of competitors with similar marketing strategies. They have no edge that sets them apart from the rest of their competitors. 

Differentiation can involve an exclusive offer, a particular technology, or a unique customer experience to the market or industry.

Some benefits of product or service differentiation include the following:

• It creates more value than similar products on the market.
• It takes price out of the competition equation.
• It gives customers the impression that a product is unique.
• It creates brand loyalty.

4. Define your brand personality

Brand personality refers to the human personification of a brand. You can intentionally establish your brand by representing yourself according to specific human traits and characteristics. Your brand personality dictates the voice, style and tone you communicate.

Several examples of brand personalities include: 

• Competent: Competent brands show success, expertise, intelligence and reliability.
• Sincere: Brands displaying sincerity are honest, genuine, caring and trustworthy.
• Exciting: Attributes for this personality type include daring, playful, spirited and imaginative.
• Sophisticated: Some characteristics of sophisticated brands are intelligence, preparation, elegance, self-confidence and poise.
• Tough: Brands with tough personalities tend to be forceful, potent, robust and powerful.

When a customer relates to the characteristics of your brand personality, it helps create a bond and eases communications, which is a critical first step in establishing a solid relationship.

5. Select a name, logo and a slogan

Your company’s name and logo are often the first things a potential customer will encounter. Using an original and distinctive name allows you to resonate with your target audience. Similarly, a witty or catchy slogan can help clients remember your product, and an effective logo can create a lasting visual impression.

Here are some additional benefits of having a compelling name, logo and slogan:

• They reflect your personality: Strategically designing your logo and slogan to reflect your brand’s personality can go a long way in creating a lasting impression for your customers.
• They help you stand out: Using a unique slogan, a creative name and bright colors can help your company image stand out from competitors. In addition, an effective logo works well on paper and across various forms of media.
• They inform your customers: An effective logo can help your clients recognize your market or industry sector immediately, providing an indication of the products or services your business offers. 

Keys to maintaining a successful brand

Once you have begun to successfully establish your brand, taking the necessary steps to maintain it is vital. Researching your competitors should be a never-ending process. Similarly, you should continue identifying new target audiences as your business evolves.

More helpful concepts to consider for brand maintenance include:

• Being first: Taking the lead with a product or concept often establishes the industry standard. Creating a strong impression through innovation can lead to brand recognition and loyalty.
• Industry expertise: Being an expert in your field is critical because it makes your business more efficient and knowledgeable than its competitors. Expertise also allows you to generate better ideas and gives your customers the impression that you’re more qualified to fulfill their needs than anyone else.
• Originality: Creativity and imagination can help set your marketing strategies apart from the industry norms. It allows you to become an authoritative source for your product or service. Original content opens the eyes of your customers to new concepts and ingenuity.

Maintaining consistency is perhaps the most critical factor in your company’s success. Consistency means that people everywhere — not just your existing customers — recognize your brand whenever they encounter your name, logo or slogan.

Many people might think it’s branding or marketing, but they do work perfectly together. Having a consistent brand is essential for people viewing your company as credible, trustworthy, and reliable.

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