The word ‘Brand’ can have different meanings but at the core, it’s a name in which people can put their trust and build belief with an emotional attachment. Companies strive to build a good Brand image. But it’s even more challenging for small business and startups to build a ‘Brand’ that stands out in the crowd.
A good brand has customer loyalty in the market, behind which there can be many reasons. That being said, let’s start with the checkpoints on ‘how to build a Brand ‘ that any small business and startup can follow.
1. Ask the right questions while deciding ‘What should be your Brand?’- (also helps in preparing your Brand Strategy)
- What’s your business purpose ?– write down the distinct message. To break it down – What solution does your business provide? Or How do you think your business can help your customer?
This question will help you set your marketing messaging right. In every marketing activity, your business purpose must be at the core so that a distinct brand message is created.
- Who is your audience? – Understanding your audience can help you understand your customer demographic. Figuring out where your customers are & what they really want, can help in understanding how to address them and what should be your channel of approach.
- What is your brand “personality “?– Develop your voice. This should be the tone of your company. Over time the way your company communicates to your audiences or the image you create in your audience’s mind is the Brand Personality.
For example, a Sportswear company can develop the tone of ‘Adventure and Thrill’ that is involved with sports while building its marketing. Or a small restaurant can adopt ‘ Celebrating friendship’ as their Brand personality.
- What’s your story? – Build a strong story that relates to your brand & create a deep bond with your target audiences. Build the story around your brand that people can connect to and help them realise your vision. Most large brands from Nike to Cocacola have a great way of storytelling. Try to find which story suits you well and promote it in a creative way.
2. Create your Brand presence:
Brand’s visibility helps audiences remember companies at the hour of need. Creating Brand presence goes in multiple ways. Figuring out where your target audiences hang out & being there will increase your chances of communication. Digital Marketing is one of the best ways to start building your Brand presence. It’s the best way to reach out to wide audiences globally quite effectively.
There are some great mentors like Neil Patel who can help you understand Digital Marketing.
OR If at all you need help, feel free to contact us & we can help you in doing Brand promotion and sales funnelling through Digital Marketing’
3. Care about your competitors.
In the movie GodFather one of the famous lines was “Keep friends close, but enemies closer”. In this case, keep your competitors closer. It’s always best to know how the other payers in the market are doing. Analysing competitors on how they market their products or services over different platforms can highlight some of the key ways you can brand your product differently. You can get an idea of their shortcomings and create innovative Ideas in messaging about your product.
4. Be consistent in your Band-Marketing efforts.
It’s not a fast solution and doesn’t work like Plug and play. To get recognised we need to be consistent with the Brand messaging and along the way self evaluate what’s working and what’s not. It’s important to keep a check on your Brand messaging being consistent with your Business. All marketing stunts should align with them.
Being active at marketing your services and products at regular interval is most required for your Brand visibility. Posting Blogs or promotional banners at regular interval on social media and Interacting at forums where your audiences are present, can be a great place to start.
At ‘tinevening’, we can help you create a proper Digital-marketing pathway and create Blogs, Articles, Promotional Banner and Campaigns to help you get the best results in Brand visibility
5. The Untold secret .
However, there is an undelaying secret of maintaining & growing a good Brand reputation. Before starting with the goal of building a good brand for your company, make sure you have this at a place
‘Be good at customer service‘
This should be at the core of a business. If you can build a good customer reputation, a good pre and post-sales relation, you can go even without marketing. But if you don’t have a good service no good Brand-marketing effort can help.
To start with, capture the reactions of your customer to your services and products and refine your approach whenever needed.
A good reputation through word of mouth is the best way of marketing & building a great Brand. If your customers are happy they are going to refer you to others.
At last, keep things simple. Business branding is not a tough job, but it does require a creative approach and strategic thinking.
Conclusion
There are multiple approaches to create a good ‘Brand image’ and to have a dedicated customer following. But if you are a Small business owner or a Startup then I believe the above points will help to build a Brand.
However please keep in mind this isn’t a comprehensive list of everything you need to do to make a great Brand. It’s simply the checklist of best practices while understanding and creating a great Brand Image.
In the end, keep things simple. Business branding is not a tough job, but it does require a creative approach and strategic thinking.
And if required we are here to help you build your Brand-marketing message and walk with you on the journey. Just leave us a message.
Lastly, if you have any suggestion on Brand -Marketing, feel free to share them in the comments section below. We will be happy to hear from you.