Today we are going to talk about brand building process. It’s an important pillar of a successful business as it helps you reach out to your customer. Competition is getting more aggressive, and people are not just looking for a product or a service. They want a unique story behind a company that’s appealing – a way to connect on an emotional level. This is where your brand comes in. Here are the basic steps to build one.

Find your target audience. Obviously, you cannot supply everything to everyone, especially if you are starting small. So try to narrow it down a little. Who will most likely buy your product? Guys, gals or both? Which age group? Education and income level? Any particular interest group? When you find the right one, you are one step closer to your market niche.

Do some homework. Now let’s move on to your competitors. Look at both ‘big whales’ and those of your own size. What is the quality level, how they market their products? What sort of value do they offer? Can you somehow outperform them and offer something that’s even more enticing?

Analyze, look for opportunities. Delve into what you learned from your research. How can you compete without a huge budget and an army of market specialists? You need to engineer the reason for people to choose your brand over your rivals, so focus on qualities and benefits that make your brand stand out. Find those opportunities and use them to your best advantage.

Define your mission statement. Why does your brand exist? What your company is most passionate about? Try finding the right answers and then channel them into your mission statement. Remember, it’s the gist of your brand’s philosophy, a reflection of your company’s core values.

Create brand logo. Entrust a team of pros with this task. That way you can be sure the logo is unique and properly represents your company and its values. You may also want brand guidelines that include color palette, fonts, iconography, etc., and define logo placement, style of photography and other important aspects. Oh, and don’t forget about tagline.

Devise your brand’s communication. Your brand will have to learn to voice all those competitive advantages to your potential customers. This means you need a clear communication strategy. It will guide the interaction process using the right business tone and the most potent tools.

Fully integrate your brand. Simply put, your brand should be everywhere. Products, packaging, business cards, visuals, advertising and everything else should feature your logo. Follow the brand guidelines to do it harmoniously.

Be consistent. Avoid deviations from your main course, especially those contradicting your brand’s philosophy. Your customers may not like such ‘shocks’. If, at some point, you decide that a certain serious change is a must, perhaps it is time to consider rebranding. We will cover this topic in one of our forthcoming articles.

Advocate your brand. Since you and your employees know your business the best, it is up to your team to promote it in the most effective ways. Use the power of the word, let more people know that you are out there and can offer something they would definitely like.