Creating a brand is one of the most powerful ways a business can make their products or services stand out from their competitors. A strong brand will get customers' attention, let you charge more, build customer loyalty, and sales. It also makes it easier to create new products that are different from what's already out there. Branding helps your business look different from others and get loyal customers. It also has many other advantages like helping you establish and grow your business.

What is a brand?

A brand is an experience that comes from the logo, tagline, personality, promise, messaging, and visuals. Branding is creating a name, logo, and attributes for your business. Just like an actor becomes their character, a business should become its brand to convince customers. Creating a brand is based on a set of behaviors and characteristics. The strength and consistency of these characteristics will determine how effective the brand is.

Every business needs to innovate to grow. But a brand provides the DNA for that growth, rather than getting in the way. Your brand is the seed that grows your business. The business might have different parts that change over time. But they're all based on the brand's DNA. Your core values will always be there, as will the consistent customer experience. Growing without a brand can cause customers to leave in large numbers.

Your brand is what keeps you focused on building a solid, loyal customer base. You should always think about your brand when making decisions for your business. This includes considering how your products or services will impact customers' lives and how it makes them feel compared to competitor products.

Every contact with a customer should enforce your brand values. You don't need to be pushy. Just make sure the way you interact with customers is in line with your vision and purpose. Every customer or prospect interaction should show your brand. It should be in your advertising and communications. Make sure it starts at the top of your organisation.

What to think about when designing your brand?

Creating a name and logo is a lot of work, and building a brand is even more complex and time-consuming. To help, here's a list of things to be aware of and consider when creating your brand. Everything you do reflects your brand. This includes how you solve problems, how you communicate, what you say, etc. This is how people will translate what your business represents.

When we work with any start-up, we want to know what they do differently. We also want to make sure that every form of communication and interaction with the outside world is consistent. This includes the tone, messages, website, fact sheets, logo, etc. It's a pain to do all this, but it's how you build your brand. If the feedback you get from the outside world doesn't match what you want your business to be, you have 'brand dissonance'. In other words, listen up and change what needs to be changed! It's important to make sure all your work is consistent and comes across the way you want. The next issue is to get those around you to do likewise; another challenge for another day.

Your brand represents both who you are and what your business is. To start, there is no difference. But, as your business grows, this means different things. This can cause other issues. No matter what you think about branding, it measures your success. If you do things well, the valuation will grow.

A Clear Brand message

Think about what you want customers to know about your company. Do you have a clear idea of the benefit to the customer? If not, why not? Look at your proposition again and figure out what makes you different. Is it price? Quality? Innovation? Something else?

To decide if your USP is good, do the 'so what?' Test. Read your USP out loud and see if it warrants the response 'so what?' If it does, think about what you're trying to say about the benefit you're delivering. Keep doing the 'so what?' Test until you have a truly compelling USP.

Once you have a good USP, be consistent with it. This will help build trust and loyalty for your brand.

If you want people to buy your brand, make it believable. Claim something unique, justified and in keeping with your brand. Think of your company as a person. Would you want to associate or believe in someone who claims perfection?

Choosing your brand name?

Your business name comes first. It should be memorable and give a good first impression. A good name can also be descriptive (like Mothercare, Toys R Us, or Burger King) or it can be something that you build meaning into as your business develops (like Starbucks, McDonald's, or Domino's).

When choosing your name, keep in mind that it's a useful tool for showing customers why they should use your business instead of your competitor's. A good name combined with good branding is the perfect recipe for success.

One method for creating trustworthiness is to link your business' name to the area you operate in. Customers associate such firms with strong local roots and a friendly approach. Humor or a play on words can help your business stand out, but the overriding aim is to make sure that whatever you choose is snappy, original, and informative about what your business does.