Written by: Denys Khromov, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Do you know what is the biggest mistake that many startups make? They focus exclusively on their product or service and forget about branding. Indeed, what you provide to your customers has to be top quality but branding is the driving force behind the process of recognizing and scaling any business.
There are several important steps when it comes to branding, from understanding your business's unique selling point (USP) to pinpointing your target audience, and you need to know how to get it right.
It is a mistake to think that branding is just a name or a logo. A brand is all about the identity of the business, its values, story, tone of voice, attitude, beliefs, and soul. Of course, it is important to create an image and a name for the startup but you need to dive deeper to introduce your uniqueness to the world.
“Proper branding is the key to your startup’s success.”
There are a few important things that you need to know about branding and how to make it right for your startup.
Ideology.
The first thing is ideology. In other words, the positioning of your company. To build it right, you need to know exactly what your business is like and what emotions it evokes. You also need to think of the USP and make it super clear for people who know nothing about your company (yet). Plus, explore the market, identify your target audience and learn everything about them. A quick tip: the narrower your target audience, the greater the chance of hitting the bull's eye.
Story.
Once you have found your audience and niche, you need to introduce your startup as a person with its own character. Come up with a catchy name, create a story and then sell it. It's no secret that startups take time to be recognized by people. However, building your brand story and the right storytelling will help you a lot. The story has to be filled with real emotions, so make it memorable but reliable.
As for naming, it has to be short (not more than two or three words) and speak up for either your business core or your business uniqueness. The name, image, vision, and look of your branding messages have to be carefully elaborated and clear to your target audience. This step is very important when you start working on your branding strategy.
Identity.
Next comes the visual – logo and identity. Keep in mind that the visual has to reflect your unique idea and be likable to the people you target. If you sell handmade unique bags for women, you don’t have to be focused on the audience that purchases mass-market bags for men.
Communication.
Now, let’s talk about communication which also has to be clear and unique. You have to find your tone of voice and know how to maintain long-term communication with your audience and potential clients. In order to succeed you need to use multiple channels. Try to use non-standard media besides the old ones like TV or outdoor. Today, there are so many other channels that you can use, like social media, emails, website content, blogs, guerilla marketing and so on. Use digits and letters because they are consumed better, and enriched with images and colors.
It is essential to build emotional connections with your clients because this is how we make them trust you. Do not be afraid to show yourself in the most non-standard way! Believe us, people like it when you are different from others! Be brave to impress the audience but make sure you look solid at the same time. “Do not be afraid to show yourself in the most non-standard way!”
When you just appear on the market, you already have so many competitors, so that is why you need to have a sketch of branding from the start. Branding helps you generate familiarity, new customers and also returning ones. It is not a secret that people prefer to come back and buy again if they liked your product. But first, you have to reach out to them and be unique to stand out from the crowd. Once you get the order, make sure your service or product is trustworthy and the client will be 100% satisfied when ordering from you. If one client likes you, be sure that this person won’t hesitate to refer even more potential customers to you! This is how well-done branding works in tandem with a quality product.
Brand consistency.
The last step to take before you launch is to be absolutely consistent with the whole brand. Make sure the positioning of your brand is clear and reflects all benefits of your business. Also, you need to be absolutely ready with the planning of the year, as well as with all social, PR, and creative communication.
Another good thing about branding is that it improves your staff’s pride and job satisfaction. Clearly, people who work for a business that has strong branding are more eager to work better and they are proud to be a part of something unique. They want to ensure the startup’s success and are more willing to work. But also, don’t forget to show your employees that their efforts are appreciated and you genuinely value them. “People who work for a business that has strong branding are more eager to work better.”
As you can see, startup branding is extremely important from the very beginning of your company’s path. You need to introduce the business to your target audience in a clear and unique way. Well-done branding is the key factor to the success of every company as it establishes you as a reliable and interesting company.
Denys Khromov, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Denys Khromov is an inspirational leader in the IT world, his passion of resolving complex problems and ability to scale operations for high-demanding companies is amazing. Worked with Forbes 500 clients with zero-failure and extreme satisfaction. During the free time loves to read books, play chess and tennis.
