You might have an idea for a business, but it takes a lot to execute a startup. Most of what goes into it is developing your brand. There are three components to creating a brand that will help ensure you’re growing your business for the long haul.
How to Succeed in Creating a Brand
When creating a brand, there are a few questions to ask yourself that will help you narrow down exactly who you are:
- What service are you providing?
- Who are you targeting, and who are your competitors?
- Will your values resonate with your audience?
Use the answers to these questions to determine the look and feel you want to apply across your business. We’ll help walk you through it.
What Services Are You Providing?
This is an important one. Do you have a special skill or acquired knowledge that could prove beneficial to a group of people? If it’s not a unique concept, what is it about your products or services that separates them from competitors? If you cannot think of an issue that can be resolved by your services, you might want to get back to the drawing board.
Who are you targeting?
You have your service. For our purposes, let’s say you’re starting a landscaping and lawn care company. You clearly would not want to be targeting children, teens, and young adults, who are not responsible for their home’s lawns. Similarly, people who live in complexes like senior homes, college housing, or apartment buildings would not find your services to be relevant. Once you’ve targeted homeowners in your area as your ideal audience, that’s when you can start creating branding that would appeal to this group.
Who Are Your Competitors?
It is important to note who you’re competing with. If they’re doing well, why are they doing well? You can see what strategies they’re using to reach your shared target audience. Conversely, you can see where they’re lacking in their efforts and make sure to improve upon those points in your own marketing strategy.
Will Your Values Resonate with Your Audience?
This question might not have come up in your research thus far, because it is not as obvious, but today this is a very important question to consider. You want to humanize your brand and show personality.
In 2020, brands that were seen as purposeful grew two times as fast as brands that were not. They achieved this by showing transparency, taking a stand, and being accountable. Using user-generated content is a helpful way to get real with your audience.
Once you give your brand a personality, values, target audience, and purpose, you must apply it everywhere. From your logo and website to the tone of voice you use in your content, you should be able to refer to the above questions to guide you in the right direction.
Here at Fat Guy Media, we ask all of our clients these questions and more so we can make sure their website and marketing efforts reflect exactly who they are. Get in touch with us to get started!
