There are misconceptions about how important branding is to making a success, how much work it takes, and the best ways to approach it. But every company, from a small -startup to a large corporation like Google knows good branding can make a product or service.
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Branding is essentially how you present your company or product — your name, imagery, reputation through logos, advertisements, websites, apps, and social media. Here are five quick top tips to help you get ahead in this competitive, ever changing industry.
1. Do your research
The most important work for successful branding is research. These are the questions you need to ask yourself...
- What do you wish to communicate?
- Who do you want to communicate to?
- Who is most likely to buy your product?
- What are the strengths and weaknesses of your product?
- What is its USP (Unique Selling Point) and what are the values you associate with your product?
If you don’t understand your own product, you won’t be able to engage with the consumer.
2. Connect with the Consumer
Your product needs to add value to your customers’ lives. Your logo, strap line, colour scheme, design, are all components that should conjure up an emotion that resonates with your target audience. Aim to create an experience and a lifestyle fit for the product – something which resonates and enriches your target consumer.
3. Be Consistent
Keep your brand and its brand values consistent so that the consumer can trust it. Keep up with ever changing trends and fazes – this even begins with the simple task of obtaining and registering your domain/profile name on new digital platforms and social media channels.
It is imperative you have the same name across all mediums to keep a strong, easily identifiable brand.
4. Create Brand Awareness
Brand awareness starts at home. The nature of your brand is about both your external communications and your internal communications: You need to consider how your staff or colleagues can act as your brand ambassadors as well as how you communicate the tone to your customers.
I remember when a new book was signed up at the publishing house I was working at – the lucky few who had read it, loved it. Perhaps there was a way where we could use this level of excitement and passion internally and communicate this externally. We decided to send early proof copies of the book to every single person in the company – from the Managing Directors, right down to the workers in the warehouse and the delivery drivers.
We wanted to generate a real buzz about the book and this resulted in a huge amount of talk not only on social media but through the old fashioned ‘word of mouth’ medium. This encouraged excitement within the bookseller industry which in turn translated to the consumer.
5. Budget Isn’t Restrictive
You don't need a huge budget to get your brand out there. You could start a blog, run a survey to gain interesting data, target a free event with your promotional goodies which a potential customer is likely to attend. In a way, it’s similar to your hunt for that perfect job – you’ve got to sell yourself to employers with little or no budget.
Think how you’re going to achieve that and apply the same rules to building a potential new brand.
Read: Top Five Skills You Need to Succeed in Advertising
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