The days when the success of a business depended solely on the quality of their product are long behind us. Big companies are here to stay and startups are popping up like mushrooms after the rain. Successful marketing, with a strong emphasis on branding is a key aspect of business – and that’s where your efforts should be directed if you are eager to find your place in the business world. Here are some strategies that can help you better build your business brand.
Create An Identity
Whether you're opening a coffee shop or building an app, a strong identity is at the very core of every powerful brand. A huge part of that identity is of visual nature. A great way to represent your product is just as important as the product itself. Take particular care when choosing a name – it should be catchy and evoke what you are all about. The color scheme and logo are also crucial. Great design is worth investing into, to ensure you get easily recognizable, stylish and evocative results.
Just think about the greatest brands in the world like Coca-Cola, Nike, Apple, McDonalds, and Shell. Their logos have become shorthand for the company itself.
All of the great logos are easily recognizable even without a company name, and that is exactly what you should strive for as well.
Create A Community
A successful branding development needs a target audience to achieve its full potential. However, while having a clearly defined target audience is the basis, you can build upon it by turning that audience into a community. After all, everyone is looking for their tribe. People want to belong, and that is something a wise marketer can capitalize on. There are many ways to accomplish this sense of togetherness. Don’t shy away from personal contact with your customer base – it’s especially easy to reach out on social media. Encourage them to share their own stories and experiences.
Seek out their niche hang-outs – many niche communities have their own forums and social networks. Loyalty programs and rewards will often convert people from casual users to real champions of your brand. However, bear in mind that no matter how hard you work on it, your community strategy will only work if your employees are friendly and welcoming to the customers.
Create Stories
Storytelling is one of the pillars of society, and is ingrained in our collective DNA. Huge brands know and often utilize to maximum advantage the basic human love of good stories. There are many brilliant examples of compelling storytelling in marketing campaigns. The question is – can you come up with one? A great story should be fascinating, emotionally involving and, of course, it needs a clear link to your brand. Always bear in mind that appealing to customers’ emotions can often be much more impactful than other, more rational methods. A well-thought out branding story can go viral and completely transform your brand, embedding it in the collective consciousness.
Create Your Values
Depending on your target audience, a good way to experiment is to think about particular values that you would like your brand to be associated with. What core values in your business do you think might appeal to your intended audience? For some groups, it’s family values, for others adventure, or femininity, or friendship. Explore the values you would like to project and watch closely the reactions of your audience. Common, desirable values can be a powerful binding force between a brand and its customers.
Conclusion
It is getting harder and harder to build a name for yourself just by providing excellence. Of course, a great product is a major pillar of success, but it alone is not enough to lift your business off the ground – all the more reason to try out our strategies that are sure to help you build a strong brand.
I hope you enjoyed this article about business branding tips so you can launch your startup among the big fish in your industry.
Interested in more articles about building better business branding?
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