There couldn’t be many steps more critical to a business than establishing its brand. It gives the organisation a unique character and sets up a position in the market to attract the customers’ attention.
But for various companies, this could pose a hurdle. Hiring branding agencies may not be feasible for most startups with limited capital. Consequently, without sound knowledge, many startups often make rudimentary mistakes. A solution to this matter may lie in equipping themselves with the right knowledge from good sources or involving themselves in brand coaching, where organisations are trained to establish the brand themselves.
Nevertheless, here are some fundamental principles to establish solid branding for your company.
Researching the Market
Begin by noticing what your competitors are doing. Notice what has been working for them and what hasn’t. This may provide you with an opening to leverage. In observing them, you may also get a peek into the behaviour of their customer bases too. But keep in mind that when broadening the spectrum of competitors you decide to conduct your research on, you may find yourself bombarded with information irrelevant to you. On the contrary, narrowing it down may prevent you from getting your hands on some crucial intel.
Creating a Manifesto
Prepare a manifesto for your brand based on the motifs and guiding principles it stands by, and stick to it. The brand’s beliefs may develop an emotional connection with the customer base. Setting up a comprehensible strategy based on the organisation’s motto goes a long way in helping the team align their actions in those directions.
Setting Solid Deadlines When Coming Up With Creative Decisions
Believe it or not, it is pretty simple to get stuck when making creative decisions, whether searching for the perfect tagline or your company logo. In such situations, it is best to set a deadline and stick to it, as that would keep you focused on the task.
Seek Help From Outside Your Company
This help could be sought either from various agencies such as professionals at brand coaching agencies, consultants or mentors. Be open to the perspectives of people other than yourself and the people from your organisation. This may affect you as some factors may go unnoticed by the people within the company. Being open to criticism opens up several dimensions of thinking that may have been closed to you without others’ perspectives.
Answering Some Questions
- What real-world problem do you intend to solve through your organisation?
- If a potential customer were to say no thanks, what may have been the reason?
- What is the most attractive trait about the products or services you provide?
- Who would your brand be if it were a person? Yourself? A celebrity, perhaps?
- What would you hide from a potential customer about your business at an initial stage?
Answering questions like these would give you a better perspective about your brand in ways your mind may have never looked at and improve your understanding of your own company. For this reason, this exercise is a highly recommended activity suggested by many branding experts to organisations that reach out to them and seek their expertise.
Final Thoughts
Embrace the reality that no well-thought idea could ever be perfect. If that energises and encourages you, the road ahead may be a tad bit easier for you when going out to establish your company’s brand. However, it may be possible to avoid many hurdles and mistakes in this journey by learning and understanding more about this skill. This could be done by conducting sound research and involving yourself in brand coaching. Their experts train and guide you to better yourself in this aspect.