BY MADAME MEROLA

Everyday, numerous businesses are set up by women for various reasons. Some are created out of a hobby, some out of desperation to provide for their families and some out of inspiration, passion and purpose. Regardless of the reason for starting the business informally or formally, one major thing that is necessary to ensure that the business is not a faceless, nameless commodity is BRANDING.

Branding is simply defined as the process of creating a strong, positive perception of your company, and it’s products in your customer’s mind.  In order for you to have a memorable, remarkable and lovable brand with a great reputation, you have to find ways to stand out. The process of achieving this brand success is what I call BRAND BUILDING.

Positive Image + Standing Out = Brand Success

 

One important element of your brand success is your Personal Brand. Everything about you as a person is communicating to others and no business can exist without people. People buy from people so as you brand your business, don’t forget to brand yourself right too.

Building a brand is definitely a process and requires a strategy. However, the ongoing effort will result in establishing long-term relationships with your customers. This can lead to a steady increase in leads and sales, word-of-mouth referrals, and advocacy for your products or services.

Branding can be broken down into three phases:

1. Brand Strategy
2. Brand Identity
3. Brand Marketing

Brand Strategy is the blueprint for how you want the world to see your business. It will map out how you are different, trustworthy, memorable, and likable by your ideal customer. It will convey your purpose, promises, and how you solve problems for people.

This is the first step you need to take when creating a brand from the ground up. An effective and comprehensive brand strategy should include the following components as part of the process:

1. Brand purpose development
2. Audience development
3. Competitor research
4. Brand voice & personality
5. Brand message & story

Brand strategy is a critical and foundational piece for building a successful brand. It’s one of the areas that most businesses overlook because they jump right into design and marketing.

Next is Brand Identity. Brand Identity is the way that you convey this to the public with visuals, messaging, and experience. Your brand strategy will influence how you present your identity and align it with your purpose for the most impact.

Your elements of brand identity should be applied across all channels consistently. It’s the way that your business becomes recognizable.

This includes your:

• Logo
• Colors and fonts
• Patterns and icons
• Collateral
• Website design
• Content and messaging
• Advertising
• Print or packaging

After you have mapped out your brand identity, you must think about Brand Marketing. Brand Marketing is the way that businesses or organizations highlight and bring awareness to products or services by connecting values and voice to the right audience through strategic communication.

Currently,  the amplification of your brand image can be done effectively through various digital marketing activities:

• User Experience (i.e. your website)
• SEO & Content Marketing
• Social Media Marketing
• Email Marketing
• Paid Advertising (PPC)

Together, these channels are fundamental to gaining brand awareness and growth.

 

How to Build a Brand People Love

1. 1. Discover the purpose behind your brand. Every successful brand has a powerful purpose behind it. There are four questions you should ask yourself when defining a brand purpose: Why do you exist? What differentiates you? What problem do you solve? Why should people care?

 

1. 1. Research competitor brands in your industry. You should never imitate exactly what the big brands are doing in your industry. But, you should be aware of what they do well (or where they fail).The goal is to differentiate from the competition. Convince a customer to purchase from you over them.

 

1. 1. Determine your brand’s target audience. The foundation for building your brand is to determine the target audience that you’ll be focusing on You can’t be everything to everyone. When brand building, keep in mind who exactly you are trying to reach. You’ll tailor your mission and message to meet their exact needs. The key is to get specific. The competitive advantage when branding your business is to narrow your target audience focus.

 

1. 1. Establish a brand mission and vision. Have you thought about your brand mission and brand vision? In essence, you’ll have to craft a clear expression of what your company is most passionate about. This is your why. Before you can build a brand that your target audience trusts, you need to know what value your business provides. Your brand vision is a future, someday, aspirational statement that your brand drives towards achieving. The mission statement is a now, everyday, statement of commitment that is a roadmap for accomplishing your vision. It will inform how you execute your brand building strategies. Everything from your logo to your tagline, voice, message, and personality should reflect your mission and vision.

 

1. 1. Outline the key qualities & benefits your brand offers.Your products, services, and benefits belong solely to you. Starting a brand that is memorable means you dig deep to figure out what you offer, and no one else is offering. Focus on the qualities and benefits that make your company branding unique. It’s important to note that this is not just a list of the features your product or services offer to the customer or client. Think about how you provide value that improves consumers’ lives (outcomes or results that are experienced).

 

1. 1. Form your unique brand voice.Your voice is dependent on your company’s mission, audience, and industry. It’s how you communicate with your customers, and how they respond to you. A brand voice could be: Professional, Friendly, Service-oriented, Authoritative, Technical, Promotional, Conversational or Informative. There are endless adjectives and possibilities that can build a brand voice behind your messaging. Ultimately, you want to choose a brand voice that makes sense and resonates with your target customers.

 

1. 1. Let your brand personality shine. Customers aren’t looking for another company that offers the same thing as everyone else.They are looking for an experience tailored to their needs, backed by genuine personal interaction. Make your personality stand out in every aspect of your brand building process. Be consistent with this brand personality across all points of contact. It can be as simple as sharing behind-the-scenes content or telling stories about real experiences.

 

1. 1. Build a brand story and messaging.When building a brand, tell customers clearly who you are. Use the business voice you have chosen for your brand. A brand story is an opportunity to communicate on a human level, making a direct emotional connection with your consumers. What this means, is that the language you use should be understood immediately while striking an emotional chord. Make it simple and clear.

 

1. 1. Create a brand logo & tagline. When you think about how to build a brand, visuals probably come to mind first. This step is one of those where you need help with creative execution. create a brand logo and tagline for your company. This logo will appear on everything that relates to your business. It will become your identity, calling card, and the visual recognition of your promise. So be willing to invest the time and money by creating something exceptional to reinforce the visual identity for your business.

 

1. 1. Integrate your brand into every aspect of your business.The brand building process never stops your brand should be visible and reflected in everything that your customer can see, read, and hear. Anything tangible–from business cards to advertisements, to packaging and product– needs the stamp of your logo. On any digital platform, ensure that your brand looks the same everywhere. Use your brand style guide to create consistency with visuals such as color and logo use, fonts etc.

 

1. 1. Stay true to your brand building. Unless you decide to change your brand into something that is more effective based on measured consumer response, consistency is key. Don’t constantly change your branding. The inconsistency will confuse your customers, and make long-term brand building more difficult.

 

1. 1. Be your brand’s biggest advocate. When you build a brand that works for your small business, you (and your employees) are the best advocates to market your brand. No one knows your brand better than you, so it’s up to you to spread the word.

 

I hope these guidelines shared here can help you get started on branding your business in a way that is authentic, connects with your target audience and makes you stand out for the value you offer.

Branding revolves around perception, purpose, and promises. If you have a business, you already have a brand. The question is how much value do people place on your brand? Building an extraordinary business brand requires organization, planning, and process. Build an EPIC BRAND.