Getting Started: How to Build Your Brand

Congratulations! You’ve decided to become an entrepreneur and start your own business! But now what? One of the first things you must do to achieve success is to build your brand.

What’s a brand? Your brand is much more than a logo. Your brand is your customer’s overall perception of your business. Brand building is a process, but the ongoing effort will lead to long-term customer relationships, essential for a successful small business.

But where do you start? Here are a few tips.

Determine your target audience. Who are you trying to reach? College students who live in dorms? Stay-at-home moms of kids under five? Corporate businessmen who work in high-rise buildings? Senior citizens who love to travel?  Your brand should be tailored specifically to this group of people.

Define your brand’s mission statement. Why does your company exist? What are you passionate about as a small business owner? Your entire brand should revolve around this mission statement - your logo, voice, message, and personality. For example, Nike’s mission statement is “to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.” You can easily see this message come through in all their advertising (see one of their recent ads here: https://skapa2014.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/x900.jpg).

Research other brands within your specific industry. You should never imitate their strategies, but you should be aware of what they do well and where they fail. Your goal is to capitalize on these shortcomings and to convince customers to choose your products or services instead! Be sure to check their social media profiles for any customer comments or reviews.

Create a great brand logo & tagline. Your logo and tagline are the most important (and the most basic) component of your brand.  This graphic will appear on everything related to your business. It’s important that you invest the time and money needed to create something special. A creative agency with experience in brand building, such as Evolve Impact Group, can help.

Integrate your brand into every aspect of your business. Branding is an essential part of literally every aspect to your business both tangible (your website, business cards, social media pages, letterhead, etc.) and intangible (how you answer the phone, how you greet customers that stop by your store, the body language of your employees, etc.)

Stay true to your brand. Consistency is key. Inconsistent branding confuses your customers and makes it more difficult to achieve long-term success. Your brand should be apparent in everything you do.

Do you need help creating your small business’s brand? Evolve Impact Group offers personalized branding solutions for your business to ensure improved market presence and sustainable, long-term impact in the marketplace. Contact us today to learn more!

Sources: http://freshsparks.com/successful-brand-building-process/,  https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/77408#