One of the first things you are going to want to look at when starting any new business is your brand. Your brand will often speak for your business louder and faster than any person connected to your business, including YOU. So, Your brand is more than just a logo or perfectly coordinated colors and fonts. Your brand is the voice to the world. It is what people think of when they hear your name or the name of your business. With that in mind, from the moment you unveil your business, everything must be based on your strategy. Here are a few steps to start working on your brand strategy.

Find Your Audience

After you have determined who your audience is going to be, now you have to find your audience. This is the beginning of your market research. Where does your audience like to hang out? What media are they consuming? What social media platforms are they using? 

That’s part of your brand strategy analysis and it is very important because if you are on a platform that your audience is not using, this could be a waste of marketing resources targeted toward your brand strategy. Sure, you may convert a few customers, but that customer base that you are targeting will not hear about you as fast as you need. You have to place all of your efforts in spaces where your audience will see you. You wouldn’t sell wool coats in a sandy desert, would you? 

Create Your Niche Through Market Research

When you discover where your audience likes to hang out and receive information, now you have to see what they are taking in. Who is already talking to them, and what are they saying? Do they have any additional questions? What are their main complaints? Complaints usually lead to pain points. Pain points are an entrepreneur’s dreamland. 

An entrepreneur’s main goal is to solve a problem. Laptops were created for people that wanted to be more mobile when they used their computers. Computers were already in existence. They were large and bulky, so carrying them around was impossible. You had to have an office in one location at all times. This lack of mobility is a pain point, and the development of the laptop was and is the solution.

What is your audience’s pain point? What are they consistently complaining about and what problems are they constantly looking to fix? This is how your product or service speaks to them. It should be a solution to a problem for them. Your niche is the space that speaks directly to that pain point. 

Secure Your Values

At the beginning of your business, you should have already begun brainstorming about your mission statement and commitments to yourself, your employee(s), and most importantly, your customers. These are your business values. For the most part, these values shouldn’t vary widely from your personal values. Nevertheless, if they do, make sure that you are solidified in that. 

You should communicate your values at every step of the process and with each person connected to the business, including your customers. People should be able to look at your company and recognize your values and standards. Consistency means that people can expect the same quality of product or services every time. This is a great way to build customer loyalty.

As your business grows and speeds up, your business values will be what keep you grounded. Your values will alert you to any unwanted changes within your business and give you the time to make changes and pivot if necessary.

Show and Tell Your Brand Strategy

This is the fun part about your brand strategy. Now, you get to play with the visual aspects of your brand strategy and fine-tune your brand voice. At this stage, you will begin picking your brand colors, logos, and selecting images that best illustrate what your business seeks to accomplish. 

This is also the stage when you are fine-tuning your brand voice. Your brand voice is what your customers will hear overtly or subliminally in every post, video, or ad. It should be clear, concise, and very consistent. This is the face of your brand strategy. Your brand should stand out in the mix of other businesses that may do similar work to you. At the end of the day, a customer should pick you because your brand speaks to them. 

Selling Your Brand Strategy

You have found your audience, researched and narrowed down your niche, ensured the security of your values, and developed your brand image and voice. Now it is time to put all of this into action. First, you are going to want to start with creating a central location where your customers will always be able to find you. This is normally a website in the digital space that may include a blog and a corresponding newsletter. 

After that, you can reach out to the spaces where your audience is found. Because you have developed your niche, you have a space where your audience can see you. You also have a voice that targets their pain points and assures them that you not only have a solution, but the best solution. 

In conclusion, branding strategy is one of the most important steps of starting your business. Your brand will last longer than you think, so making sure that you are communicating the right message to your potential customers is vital to the success of your business. For more information and advice on creating your optimal brand, contact us TODAY at The Darl for a consultation.