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5 Tips for Building Your Brand as a Startup
A business is nothing without its brand. This helps to establish your company’s mission, attitude, and values, whilst also building trust with customers and increasing awareness. If you are developing a startup company but struggling to build your brand, then we have a couple of helpful tips that could help you along the way. Read on to find out what they are.
1.) Identify Your USP
First things first, you need to establish what exactly sets your business apart from your competitors in the industry. This is called your unique selling proposition (USP). To identify your USP, you will need to conduct some market research. Look at your competitors, weighing up their advantages and disadvantages. What makes them good and what are they missing? Ideally, you want your startup company to fill in any market gaps. You can build the rest of your business up from here.
2.) Develop Creative Elements
Appearances are essential in branding. They can subliminally tell customers all they need to know about your company – i.e. how professional you are, what kind of attitude you have, who your target audience is, etc. Therefore, we strongly recommend investing a decent amount of time into developing the creative elements of your startup. This includes your name, logo, colour scheme, website appearance, and the overall aesthetic of your promotional materials. All the best and biggest brands have paid careful attention to nailing their creative elements.
3.) Use an Agency
Using a marketing agency could also help you to build your brand, especially those that specialise in brand identity like Ice House Design. These companies will usually tailor their services to suit your startup company’s needs. Whether that’s devising a digital strategy or creating your business logo, your brand should be effectively developed. Those that are struggling with the creative elements for their startup would especially benefit from using a brand identity agency.
4.) Devise a Slogan
One of the biggest parts of a brand’s identity is its slogan. This should effectively encompass your company’s values and attitude in a few words, whilst also enticing customers to invest in whatever you are offering. Let’s look at some of the best examples of slogans. We have ‘Just Do It’ from Nike, which is inspiring, says a lot about the business’s character, and could be said by any sporting coach. ‘Taste the Rainbow’ by Skittles and ‘I’m Lovin’ It’ by McDonald’s are also iconic. When creating your slogan, be bold! Find the heart of your company and convey it onto the page.
5.) Be Consistent
To effectively build a brand, you need to be consistent. This includes having a specific tone across all media channels, using colours that match your business logo, and ensuring your standards are upheld in the delivery of your products or services. Otherwise, everything you have done to develop your startup’s brand will be meaningless. Remember, actions speak louder than words.
These are some of our top tips for effectively building your startup’s brand. We hope you found our advice inspiring and insightful.