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One of the biggest issues that clients typically come to me with is getting known within their target marget. While there are several things that must be done, having a strong brand presence is one of the first things you want to take care of. While it’s not necessary to have sealed up before you seek to get your first customers, it does position you more powerfully and will help increase your conversions exponentially. In order to develop a great and effective brand, you must have a branding strategy.
What is a Branding Strategy?
While having a great logo is necessary, a brand is not just a logo or a name, the logo represents your business identity. Therefore, it is a crucial part of the startup process for any business but it’s only one part of the process. Branding strategies are used to provide the fundamental steps and recognize the valuable tools that will help create a strong business brand. In general terms, a strong brand is one that people recognize and believe to deliver good quality. Have you ever found yourself at the grocery choosing one product over the other because it is the more recognized or trusted brand?
The objective of your branding strategy is to recognize what could turn your business into a trusted brand name. How can you make people trust your brand and its reputation? What should you do to communicate the objective and mission of your company? What is the message you are trying to send out to produce loyal customers? What feelings do you want to evoke when someone experiences your brand by way of your emails and products and services. A sound business branding strategy will help you find answers to these questions and more allowing you to establish a brand for your company that will do very well in the market.
Creating Your Name, Logo and Website
Coming up with a name for your business goes hand in hand with creating a logo that will identify your company. When it comes to logos, always opt for something unique. Logos will be utilized in your advertising and marketing campaigns, so it must be well-recognized.
For beginners, your logo should very easily readily indicate to clients and prospects the nature of your business – such as whether you are in the food, automotive, or telecommunications business. Therefore, you should choose images that are associated with the nature of your business and the products and services they used to represent it.
Develop a Great Slogan or Tagline
Once your logo is designed, start to think of a slogan that will reinforce the message you are trying to communicate to the market. As long as you keep this part brief and straightforward, then this can be an effective branding tool for your business. This tagline will serve as an additional touch to the main message you are trying to give, thus giving you an edge over your competitors and highlighting the unique experience or service that customers will have when they engage your services.
One advantage that you have with including a tagline is that it is not permanent, unlike the logo. Therefore, if you begin a new marketing strategy, your tagline can be changed to highlight your new marketing gameplan. A tagline then opens up several opportunities to expand your marketing campaigns, as compared to the static nature of a logo because developing a logo that represents your company takes more in depth work and takes more time to establish.
Using Powerful Colors and Images
Just like logos, colors and images can be used to establish the identity of your business. Colors are a powerful source for helping to elicit emotions. Therefore, you need to carefully pick out exactly what type of color you are going to use in your logo in accordance with the image and personality of your business. Try to conduct a little bit of research about the different qualities of color types so you can determine exactly what best to use for your company.
Communicate Your Unique Services
When communicating your company brand into the market, highlight the services that only you can offer. If you can guarantee a service that none of your competition can, you have an edge over the competition. You can use that as a primary marketing strategy to draw more people into your prospect funnel. An example of this would be a time guarantee on your delivery services, if you’re in the food business.
Branding your business is instrumental in influencing a memorable response in the minds of your chosen audience. It helps increase the perceived value and ultimately helps to take your business to the next level. Use these branding elements in your strategy and you will start to cement a positive branded image for your business.
© 2011 Felicia Davis International
“Felicia Davis mentors new, emerging and aspiring women entrepreneurs on creating the lifestyle business they desire! Get her FREE CD “25 Ways to Wow Your Customers, Increase Your Profits and Make Your Competitors Wish They Were You!” at www.SmallBizLaunch.com”
