Branding: Basic Steps to Proper Branding
There are questions that inevitably come up when you start thinking about how to connect the dots between what you are selling and who you are trying to reach.
Whether you have got nothing but a business idea or want to pivot your existing brand, here’s what you need to know about building a strong identity for your business.
What is a Brand?
A brand isn’t just a recognizable name and logo that distinguishes you in a crowded market.
As a small business, you may be competing against big brands with loyal consumers and an unlimited budget. You need to find ways to distinguish yourself- with solid steps to proper branding of your own.
“Your Brand is how people perceive you whether they interact with your business, both the impressions you can control and the ones you can’t.”
The founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, says it even better: “Your brand is what other people say about you when you are not in the room.” Your brand is your reputation!
Building your brand is a process that requires a strategy. It can lead to an increase in leads and sales, word-of-mouth referrals, and advocacy for your products or services.
Your brand is your guarantee to your client. It mentions to them that they can anticipate from your products and services and it separates your contribution from that of your rivals. Your brand is gotten from what your identity is, who you need to be, who you need your clients to be and who you need individuals (your clients) to see you.
Branding is about feelings and conviction, not facts. It’s imperative to be clear and conceivable.
GUIDE STEPS IN BUILDING A PROPER BRAND
Building your brand boils down to these various steps:
- Discover the purpose behind your brand
- Research your target audience and your competitors
- Pick your focus and personality
- Choose your Brand name
- Choose the look of your brand (colour)
- Create a brand logo and tagline
- Develop your website
- Outline the key benefits & qualities your brand offers
- Be Consistent
- Apply your branding across your business
It is important that you consider each aspect as you are building your brand:
- DISCOVER THE PURPOSE BEHIND YOUR BRAND
Every successful brand has a purpose behind it. There are questions you should ask yourself before branding; Why do you exist? What makes you different? What problems do you solve? These questions will help in building the foundation of your brand like; logo, taglines, colour, slogans, etc.
Studies show that 50% of consumers buy based on the company’s brand values.
- RESEARCH YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE AND COMPETITORS
Before you make any decisions about your brand, you need to understand the current market, i.e., who your potential customers and current competitors are.
The research helps to immerse the environment of the future brand and comprehend the peculiarities which may influence its success.
The more diverse the target audience is, the more diluted your marketing efforts will be.
You shouldn’t exactly imitate what your competitors are doing. The goal is to distinguish you from your competition and ensure that your consumers purchase your products or services instead of theirs (competitors).
- PICK YOUR FOCUS AND PERSONALITY
Your brand can’t be for everyone. You will have to craft a clear expression of what your company is most passionate about. This is your why; the reason you are still in business.
Before you can build a brand that your target audience trusts, you need to know what value your business provides. Here are some questions and branding exercises to get you thinking about the focus and tone of your brand:
What is your mission statement?
The mission statement basically defines a purpose for existing. It will inform every other aspect of your brand building strategies. Everything from your logo, to your tagline, personality should reflect your mission statement.
When people ask you what your brand do, answer them with your mission statement.
What words would you associate with your brand?
One important process in proper branding is looking at your brand as a person. What would he or she look like? What personality would he/she have?
- CHOOSE YOUR BRAND NAME
As we have said before, a brand is so much more than a name. The personality, reputation, actions of a brand are really what give the name meaning in the market.
As a small business owner, your name is the first big step you have to make. It will impact your Domain name, marketing and trademark registration.
Ideally, you want a brand name that is hard to imitate. You may also want to make your brand name lengthy rather incase in the future, you want to go abroad. Rather than naming it after your product or service.
Since your brand name will also affect your Domain name and website, dig around before deciding on a brand name.
- CHOOSE THE LOOK OF YOUR BRAND (COLOR AND FONT)
Once you have gotten a name, you will think of how you will visually represent your brand, namely your colours and font. This will come in handy when you want to create your website.
Colours don’t just define the look of your brand; it also conveys the feeling you want to communicate and help you make it consistent among everything you want to do. You will also want to choose colours that differentiate you from competitors and avoid confusing customers.
It is important to consider how legible black and white text will look over your brand colour.
Choosing your Font
At this point, it is good to consider the font you want to use for your website. Choose a font for the Heading, another for the Body.
- CREATE A BRAND LOGO & TAGLINE
This step may require help with creative execution. The most exciting of the steps to proper branding is to create a brand logo and tagline for your company.
This logo will appear on everything that will relate to your business. It will become your identity, calling card and the visual recognition of your promise.
You will want a logo that is unique, identifiable and scalable to work at all sizes. So be willing to invest the time and money by creating something exceptional to reinforce the visual identity for your business.
Consider all the places where your Brand logo needs to exist, from your website to all your social media platforms.
Keep the colour and fonts you chose in mind so they will work together with your logo.
- DEVELOP YOUR WEBSITE
Your website is a very important aspect of proper branding. It is where your target audience go, to learn what you do, how you do it and who your clients are. The content you post on your website will become the focus of your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) so that your potential employees and referral sources will find you and learn about your firm.
- OUTLINE THE KEY BENEFITS & QUALITIES YOUR BRAND OFFERS
Starting a brand that is outstanding means you dig deep to figure out what you offer and no one else is offering. Focus on the qualities and benefits that make your company branding unique.
If you already know who your target audience is, give them a reason to choose your brand over another.
Your benefits and qualities are not just a list of the features your product or services offered to the customer or client. It is about how you provide value that improves consumer’s lives.
- BE CONSISTENT
Your brand won’t last long if you don’t figure out a way to guarantee it stays consistent. Your customer must no longer see your brand as a promise but as a Reality. Consistency is always the hardest part, but one with the greatest reward.
10. APPLY YOUR BRANDING ACROSS YOUR BUSINESS
Your brand should be visible in everything your customer can see, read and hear.
If a customer or clients should walk into your office or store, your brand image should be on full display in the environment and personal interactions. Anything tangible-from business cards to advertisements, to packaging and product–needs the stamp of your logo.
On any digital platform, ensure that your brand looks the same everywhere. Use your brand style guide to create consistency with visuals such as colour and logo use, fonts, etc.
Your website is the most important tool for marketing your brand. When you design your website: incorporate your voice, message, and personality into the content.
Profile pages for your social media networks should be branded visually.
THE KEYS TO A STRONG BRAND IDENTITY
A strong brand identity needs to work for everyone, both your internal team and the people who will interact with it (e.g., customers). As you embark on the design process, make sure your brand identity is:
- Distinct: It stands out among competitors and catches people’s attention.
- Memorable: It makes a visual impact. (Consider Apple: The logo is so memorable they only include the logo—not their name—on their products.)
- Scalable and flexible: It can grow and evolve with the brand.
- Cohesive: Each piece complements the brand identity.
- Easy to apply: It’s intuitive and clear for designers to use.
If any of these elements are missing, it will be challenging for your brand team to do their job well.
To get started on proper branding for your business, Trace Media Ltd is your go-to.
Trace media is a digital marketing agency that can take your business to the next level with proper branding.
To learn more or get started on Branding for your business, do not hesitate to send us a mail via support@tracemedialtd.com, visit tracemedialtd.com, call/WhatsApp 0703 458 6840 or 0812 006 9120 or comment bellow.
