4 Steps to Building a Brand New Business

Developing a digital company frequently implies that you are entirely unaccompanied and beginning altogether anew – there is nobody from the IT division to deal with your email, no expert logo designer to produce a logo, and no specialist author to create content for the website. Therefore, most entrepreneurs without external financial assistance rely on already available tools to get the job done, such as utilizing their own personal contact information when carrying out company activity.

But after you’ve got everything running moderately well – since let’s be honest, you’ll never be free from dealing with problems, even if you become a major corporation – it’s time to start organizing your company and making a clear distinction between the personal and the professional.

A lot of this cleanup means focusing on branding. The visual representation of your company is the essence of your brand. It is distinguished by the things that make you stand out from your rivals. To make a difference in a highly competitive market, all the minor details are significant. These are nine rapid and straightforward measures to go from “brand new” to a “branded” identity.

What Is a Brand?

A brand is a non physical idea which gives a company a specific identity, making it easier for customers to remember them. A firm conveys its beliefs and concepts by creating attractive logos, memorable catchphrases, distinctive products, or superior services.

People typically associate Starbucks with its instantly recognizable logo, superb coffee, and satisfying visits to the shops.

The objective of the brand-building process is to engender favourable connotations and a sense of trustworthiness amongst customers, as well as to establish a personal connection.

A research done in the UK has shown that when people have faith in a business, they will be more likely to shop there, advocate for it to their acquaintances, enroll in the loyalty system, and post favorable remarks on social media.

Thus, having a strong and remarkable brand can make a huge impact on the success of a business. It sets Starbucks, a global chain, apart from an independent, local coffee shop.

We will discuss the necessary procedures for creating a brand.

Determine the Brand Positioning

Brand positioning is the system used by a company to make itself stand out from its rivals, defining a special offer of value.

Start by figuring out key features and benefits that other companies do not offer, such as:

Affordable prices. Cost-effective products can attract more customers. However, they often mean lower profit margins and product quality.
Innovative products. Instead of charging low prices, create innovative and unique products. While it might take years of research and development, having few to no competitors gives companies more freedom when setting prices.
Excellent service. Provide 24/7 customer support to answer user queries and solve their problems. In addition, offer after-sales service to maintain good relationships with clients, prompting them to become loyal customers.
Enjoyable user experience. Create a seamless experience throughout the entire user journey. For instance, software companies can develop a user-friendly interface, cross-platform compatibility, and clear information architecture.
Premium goods. High-end consumers tend to value quality over affordability. To target this market, highlight the product quality by showing the production process, explaining the materials used, and presenting the key benefits.

Build Effective Branding Communication

A well-defined and effective communication plan assists companies to transmit information and connect their morals with purchasers. Begin by coming up with an impressive business title, a phrase that grabs attention, and a fascinating narrative.

Come Up With a Business Name

Come up with a business name that sticks in people’s minds if you haven’t already. Here are some tips:

The name should be relevant to your business. For instance, when people hear Papa Ron’s Pizza, they instantly associate it with a pizza restaurant.
Blend two words into one. For example, Netflix combines the terms “internet” and “flicks,” a synonym for “movie.”
Use acronyms to shorten longer names. Most people are familiar with BBC, yet they might not know it stands for British Broadcasting Corporation.
Take notes from folklore, literature, or foreign languages. In Greek mythology, Nike is the goddess of victory, which inspired the popular shoe brand.
Use domain name generators. When making a website, use domain name generators to find available URLs that reflect the brand name. This is crucial to help customers locate your business site more quickly.

Write a Catchy Slogan

A brief yet memorable phrase is used to express a company’s aim. Follow these steps when creating one:

Brainstorm a list of phrases related to your industry and niche. Do not hesitate to use powerful words to emphasize the brand’s message and invoke emotion.
Take notes from the competitors or use an online slogan generator to help with the process. Make sure to keep the slogan short and straightforward.
After compiling the list, create an internal poll with relevant team members to narrow down the options. Then, pick the top three choices.
Perform A/B testing on the company’s website, social media platforms, and other marketing materials to see which slogan option performs the best.

Tell Compelling Brand Stories

Well-crafted stories can evoke powerful responses from the intended spectators, assisting businesses to grow their visibility and connect with readers.

Your brand’s narrative can be communicated via blog postings, video ads, or social media postings. The following ideas will help with the process:

Provide a background story. Telling stories about the founders or the company’s humble beginnings can make the brand more relatable to the audience.

Share the challenges. Present the struggles of building your own brand and what you did to overcome them.

Aim for the greater good. Identify an issue within your industry and build marketing campaigns around it. For instance, Toms Shoes resonated with customers and became a household name by giving away a pair of shoes for each one sold.
Prioritize honesty and transparency. 88% of consumers choose authenticity as the deciding factor when supporting a brand.

Design the Brand’s Visual Identity

Brand identity can be described in terms of visual representations such as logos, colors, and typefaces.

Apply the following tips when creating visuals for a brand identity:

Create a memorable brand logo. A unique brand logo helps companies build brand awareness, capture the audience’s attention, and make an excellent first impression. To save money on a professional designer, consider free logo makers like Canva and Visme.
Choose a suitable website color scheme. Studies suggest that colors boost brand recognition by 80% and influence 85% of consumers’ buying decisions.
Determine the typography. Fonts can make the difference between an attractive and an unappealing design. We recommend browsing through Google Fonts’ free options to pick the right one.
Match the brand’s personality. Use visual elements that represent your brand personality.
Learn from competitors. Take notes from other companies within the same industry, identify their visual identities’ weaknesses, and develop a better concept.
Create brand guidelines. A brand guideline sets the standards and rules for how employees and business partners should display a brand’s logo, visual identity, and typography.

Look the part

Businesses that conduct transactions in person should consider having uniforms for employees. A stylish printed t-shirt or an embellished polo shirt will give you a pulled-together look while highlighting your logo. You have the option of utilizing multiple web-based services to develop custom apparel, but you can also look for someone close by so that you are able to physically pick the clothes that you like. More so, do these…

Get a dedicated phone number

It is obvious that having a dedicated telephone number for your company is a good decision. You can provide your contact information without disclosing your personal telephone number. It guarantees you don’t respond carelessly to a client’s call with an informal “Yo, what’s up?” Moreover, you likely don’t want your customers to experience that antique voicemail greeting featuring the tune of the “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”.

You can choose to go with an outdated method and get a separate phone line for your business, but it is likely more cost-effective and more practical to go with a Google Voice number. You won’t have to pay for it, and will also get to have your own unique telephone number and a place to keep your voicemail messages on the web. GetVoIP’s review of Google Voice reveals that you can have all of your phones attached to one number using this service.

If you would like to upgrade to a more polished appearance, it might be a good idea to get a toll-free 800 number. Certain internet companies, like Grasshopper, have features compatible with Google Voice that give you the ability to reroute your number to a cellular device or even build calling pathways, e.g. tapping 1 for sales and 2 for returns.

Get a P.O. box

Again, it’s time to separate the personal and professional. A P.O. box permits you to create a mailing address for clients and providers without revealing the location of your residence. You can trust that your packages will not be left exposed to bad weather if they are delivered to you.

If you want to go even further, you could choose to use a facility such as Mail Boxes Etc. or the UPS Store that can offer you a real street address instead of a post office box. This implies that you can acquire a parcel from all the primary delivery services, not just the United States Postal Service. A lot of spots now give 24-hour access, which is really great if you work late or a night shift.

The benefit of having a physical address means that you can target your nearby clients. Being aware that a business is situated in your city or state can often bring about a prompt feeling of dedication. Wouldn’t it be better to cheer on the local team rather than the opponents?

Take better photos

Images are the ideal method of introducing web users to your products. Images that are large and sharp will give people the opportunity to interact with the products so that they can get a better understanding of their features and details.

If you don’t have a limit on spending, you should really go for it and hire a nearby professional photographer, or consider using a photography service website like ProductPhoto.com. These two choices can produce pictures of a professional quality, plus they are able to make any editing that is required after the photographs have been taken. If you have a limited amount of money, look at our great article on how to do product photography without spending more than fifty dollars. A DSLR camera will give you excellent pictures, however, the majority of modern smartphones have cameras that can take some good pictures.

Be sure to take some pictures of your products being used. A blank white canvas will emphasize the features of the item, but having a snapshot of it with a person or being used can give it a sense of size and character. Combine both types of photography to provide a comprehensive experience for the patron.

Order business cards

Having a business card can be a key element of spread awareness of your business through word-of-mouth promotion. You can obtain business cards from a website such as Vistaprint or Moo for a meager price. Over time, it might be less expensive to get images printed by a professional than to use several ink cartridges in your home printer, and the quality will be much higher too.

Set up an About Us and a Contact page

It is important to pay attention to the fact that ‘and’ was used in the statement, instead of ‘or’. Quite a few individuals are unaware of the significance and divergence between the two, thus creating a below-par buyer experience.

This is an opportunity for you to demonstrate to your customers the essence of your company. Provide a fast summary of the product or service you are offering, the motivation for putting it up for sale, as well as what sets you apart from other vendors (and makes you a better choice). This is a great opportunity to communicate your enthusiasm and purpose to people who are viewing your website since they cannot meet you in person.

The “Contact” page is where customers should go if they need to communicate their queries, opinions, or worries. Ensure that this page is visible in your navigation menu and provide all your contact information. Do you recall the post office box number, phone number, and email address you established beforehand? Well, this is their time to shine. Avoid putting too much data that is more suitable for the “About Us” page here; make it a fast and straightforward point of reference for your customers.

A contact form can be implemented to facilitate communication between your customers and yourself. This will facilitate the process of them entering their response email, identifying themselves, and specifying the matter of their query by either copying and pasting your email address or opening their email application. If you want more complicated options, you might want to look into connecting to an outside application such as Wufoo, EmailMeForm, or Kontactr.

Benefits of Developing a Strong Brand

Provide a clear guideline. Brand identity helps business owners determine the company’s vision and goals upfront, providing a clear path to success.
Boost credibility. Most people consider established brands more credible and reliable, prompting them to make purchases.
Increase recognition and exposure. Customers tend to recommend brands they like to their friends and families. Free word-of-mouth marketing increases a company’s reach and potential leads.
Attract ideal customers. It’s easier to attract customers when they relate to the brand’s values and mission statement.
Get repeat sales. Providing a unique selling proposition can help businesses acquire returning customers.
Increase revenue. Good brand-building efforts increase sales and revenue. In fact, 46% of US consumers spend more on businesses they trust.

Conclusion

Creating a complete brand image is essential to make a name for yourself in the business world. It is necessary to be well-prepared as the process of creating a brand requires lengthy periods of dedication and resources.