The process of creating the brand is a strategic and very significant step for any start-up. A solid brand identity is a backbone for developing customer loyalty and retention, which can be a great competitive advantage.
The modern market is utterly disruptive and agile, so properly-defined brands that follow the trend and manage to stay relevant, are more likely to survive and win.
How to define this successful branding strategy? Consider these ten questions:
1. What value do we bring, except for our product/service?
Your brand purpose should go beyond revenues, it should be meaningful, inspiring, and bring people together. Think about what customer pain points you can mitigate and how your start-up can benefit society.
2. Who are we talking to?
Without a deep understanding of the people you serve, your sales offer and marketing will very likely be misaligned with what delights your audience. Analysing your customers, their habits, preferences, and lifestyles will navigate your business development roadmap.
3. Is our selling proposition clear for our audience?
Make sure your customer perception is the one you intended to create. In addition, you should track the trends and envision possible product extensions or evolutions.
4. Who we are competing with?
Investigate who else is targeting this audience and do a quick SWOT analysis. Try to think bigger than your product category - all kinds of substitutes can get a substantial market share as well.
5. What is our uniqueness?
To compete in today’s market to have a good product is not enough, you should sell it in a different way. It can be an innovative business model, solid industry knowledge, exceptional customer experience… Make a list of these strengths, and if it’s too short, think about how you can obtain some.
6. What is the personality of our brand?
Think of your brand as a real person. Is it going to be adventurous, funny, reserved, glamorous, sophisticated, young, or wise?
7. What don’t we want our brand to be?
It is also important to understand what you don’t want to be associated with. Address your values, objectives, and customer persona when visualising your brand image.
8. What’s our brand story?
As social beings, we all love stories. And when it comes to marketing, a compelling brand story allows connecting with customers emotionally by inviting them to become a part of it.
9. How do we communicate?
Once you’ve identified what is your brand, why it exists, what’s it doing and for whom, you should develop an engaging brand communication strategy. Figure out which channels will allow you to access your audience more effectively, define your tone of voice, and find the way to maintain customers’ interest.
10. How will we measure our brand’s success?
Set KPIs and define benchmarks, that will help you to measure your brand performance in the future. In this way, you’ll be able to improve ineffective strategies and fix weak points.
Elaborating an impactful brand identity is a quintessential part of a company’s establishment. Without a well-crafted brand, it’s very hard to glow up in the market and turn customers into the company’s devotees. That’s why you need to start polishing your brand at the very early stages, even before people know you exist.