When talking about brands, people often think of logos, colour schemes and taglines. Although these are all important parts of every brand, there’s much more than that to branding. A brand is the very essence of what your business is and what customers can expect from it. So, how exactly do you build a successful brand and challenge brands that have been around for a while? Listed below are six simple steps that can help.
Discover your purpose
Behind every strong brand, there’s a clearly-defined purpose. Think of it as that thing you wake up every day loving to do for other people through your product or service. Discovering your purpose often sounds much easier than it actually is and it might take you some time to get there. If you’re struggling to establish your purpose, ask yourself questions such as “What am I aiming to achieve?” and “What exactly can I do for my customers?” Another good idea is to review your mission statement to get the idea of what your brand’s purpose is.
Find something that makes you stand out
One of the reasons why your business needs a brand is to show customers that they should buy from you instead of your competitors. Most companies in the same industry offer the same products or services and finding something that makes you stand out can be tough. Luckily, there’s no need to make any changes in your operations to stand out from the crowd. Instead, all you need to do is position your brand in customers’ minds so that they differentiate it from all the other companies in the sector.
Learn more about your target audience
What your brand should be has a lot to do with your target audience’s preferences. In other words, it’s easier to build a successful brand when you know what your audience wants from you. The key to determining your target audience is to get as specific as possible. For example, instead of “all moms,” why not narrow down your niche to “moms who work from home?” Narrowing down your target audience focus allows you to build a brand your audience can understand and relate to which is exactly what having a brand is all about in the first place.
Design cool graphics
Graphics are a fundamental part of every brand. The first thing you need to do when designing visuals for your brand is coming up with a logo. Just think about Nike’s Swoosh or the Apple logo and you’ll get the idea of how important having the right logo is. However, there’s more to visuals than just the logo. Everything from the colour scheme to the fonts you use in your images determines your brand on many levels. Nowadays, you also need cool icons for your mobile apps and digital tools. Luckily, there are companies such as Infostarters ;who can create tailor-made icons for you.
Form a unique brand voice
With social media now playing an integral role in our everyday lives, brands communicate with their audience more than ever before. Whether you’re conversing with customers through direct messages or in the comment section, having a unique brand voice can do wonders for your brand. Using the correct voice makes connecting with customers and attracting new ones a piece of cake. A brand voice can be anything from professional or service-oriented to friendly or playful. Ultimately, it’s important to choose a brand voice that resonates with your audience.
Be consistent
One of the most common traits of every successful brand is consistency. They’re consistent with everything they do and they always look to make their styles, colours, and actions align with their brand. Do the same and you’ll help customers remember your brand and connect with it. Depending on the size of your business, you can think about designing a style guide for employees, just to make sure your brand retains that consistency. Of course, this doesn’t’ mean you shouldn’t be flexible and refresh your brand every now and then.
It’s not an exaggeration to say that branding is one of the most significant things you can do for your company. A well-designed brand can transform any small business into a company that’s ready to compete with all industry giants.
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