One of the most frustrating things about business owners is their potential ignorance about branding. Not all business owners are like this of course, but there is a large majority that doesn’t understand the repercussions of poor branding.
Remember, branding is not just a logo or the visual aspect of your business, it’s so much more.
I wanted to share some tips on how to build a successful brand for your business, in just 8 steps.
1 | Determine your business purpose - Find your “Why”
As a business owner myself, I know my business WHY. My WHY is because I love helping other business owners by creating meaningful, strong visual brand identities and sales-driven, converting websites. I also love working with others and being able to understand and represent my client's vision and goals. It’s very satisfying, and motivating!
Finding the real motivation behind why you want to, or why you started your business, will help you to determine your business purpose. It will also help you feel motivated, and focused and encourage you to want the best for your business.
2 | Define your core values
Your core values will help you stay true to your business purpose.
By identifying your core values, you can be intentional in your business and therefore intentional with other areas within your business to help elevate and create a successful brand.
3 | Determine your USP
Your USP is what will set you apart. Do you have a unique skill set, career path or life story?
We all have our own experiences and are unique, so being able to embrace this and use it positively in your business can help your brand become successful as it can build a connection with your audience.
4 | Determine your target audience and your competitors
By determining your target audience and identifying who your ideal clients are you can target your audiences most basic problem. This will help you understand your business in greater depth and also help you build a successful brand as you can delve into portraying how you have the solution for your target audience’s issues or problems.
By determining who your competitors are you can highlight what you admire about how they help their target audience - what do they do? How do they do it?
Ideally, you want to find businesses that you admire and see as a source of inspiration and learn from them. It’s not always about competing in business.
5 | Create a strong visual brand identity
A strong brand is easy to recognise - think, Apple, Starbucks, Nike.
They all have a strong brand and a very strong brand identity. You know when you see the Apple logo, that it is Apple. You know when you see that recognisable green and mermaid logo that it’s. That “swoosh”, that “tick” - You know it’s Nike.
A strong visual identity will help you stand out from the crowd, it will differentiate you from your competitors, it will make you look professional and it will build trust, credibility and loyalty.
It’s important to get this right, as it can be expensive for your business and the success of your business if it goes wrong.
Hiring a designer to help you with your branding will more than likely be one of the best decisions you could make for your business and its success.
If you need any help, take a look at some previous branding case studies, check out my signature visual brand identity package, or get in touch.
6 | Find and form your business personality
Your business personality is ultimately the voice of your business and your brand. By finding and forming this, you are one step closer to building a successful brand. How? I hear you say…
Well, what you say in your business - whether to yourself, your employees or even a VA that is temporarily helping you out, determines your company's voice and tone of voice, and therefore HOW you say it is very important.
Your business personality could be one of many things, for example, it could be:
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Serious
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Professional
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Approachable
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Friendly
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Informative
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“Laid back”
You can still be professional and build trust with a friendly approach.
For example, the tone of voice, and language used on your website could be serious, however, if this is different from the language used in your social media replies, well it can be confusing!
Ultimately you want your business personality and voice to be determined to help reinforce your strong brand, which will lead to success.
7 | Be consistent
Consistency is key to building a successful brand. I can’t stress this enough. It’s crazy to see just how many business owners are not consistent. Using different fonts, colours, and even logos for your business can play a massive part in the failure of your business.
Your clients, customers, and audience will not be able to identify or relate, with your business if they do not see or feel consistency. They simply won’t trust you. Hence… Consistency is key!
8 | Integrate your brand into every aspect of your business
By integrating your brand into every aspect of your business you are being your brand champion and helping your brand to be successful.
As a business owner, no one knows your brand better than you, so whether it be your response via email, or on the phone, really remember to bring in your business personality, remember to use the right colours and fonts when you do any work that requires your visual representation - use your brand board. If you are looking to take on a VA, or work with someone, make sure they are aware of your brand identity, your business personality, your mission and goals. It really will aid in the success of your business.