5 Tips for Defining your Brand Without a Big Budget
Behind every successful business, there’s someone who started it with a vision of what it would become. No matter what size your business is currently, having a strong brand identity is imperative to growth.
As well as making your company identifiable and unique, a strong brand strategy underpins everything you do and should tie in with everything from your values to your services to communicate exactly what your brand is all about.
That’s all well and good for those who can afford to engage with a top marketing agency, but how do you put together a brand strategy if you don’t have deep pockets?
We’ve put together 5 top tips from one of the best design agencies in Leeds to help brands of all sizes get started in defining themselves.
1. Define your business and your future goals
As with anything, the key to strong brand identity is in the planning. Take some time to conduct research about both your own brand and where it sits within your chosen market, as well as looking at some of the key competitors in your industry, where they started out, and how they communicate their own story.
Think particularly about where you would like your brand to be in the next 2 years, 5 years, and 10 years, and any steps you think you might need to take to get there. How do you see yourself being represented to your prospective customers?
Brands who want to come across as friendly and approachable, for example, might choose to have a more informal tone of voice, whereas brands positioning themselves in a more formal and informative way may opt for methods of communication that are more professional in nature.
Start with defining your core brand values, your mission statement, and your vision statement. Decide what makes you tick and what made you want to start the business in the first place, then put it into a single sentence that would tell a stranger as closely as possible what you’re about.
2. Analyze your competitors and the market itself
Build a list of your main competitors and write out how each of the positions itself in the market. What are their selling points and their weaknesses? Does what customers say about them in reviews etc. reflect the message they’re trying to convey? Look for any inconsistencies as they may be inadvertently leaving gaps in the market between their customers’ expectations and the reality of their products or services.
Take a look at things that are specific to their company, as well as specific to their products, and customers, and collate it into a SWOT analysis table, also adding in your own brand so that you can view all information alongside each other.
When looking at your competitors, use whatever you find as more of a guide – remember that nobody likes a copycat, and taking things directly from other businesses, whether that be creative design elements or written content, can land you in a lot of trouble. This brings us to our next tip.
3. Consider your unique selling points and focus on them
What makes your brand or business different from competitors or other options that are already on the market? Do you do or have anything that’s unique to you that you could make use of? You could be selling the exact same products or services as other companies, and that doesn’t necessarily matter as there are several ways to differentiate yourself. Write a list of your particular strengths and then ensure that they’re highlighted throughout your messaging consistently.
Think about how your strengths and selling points align with your prospective customers/clients. Whilst it’s important to define your brand values, it’s equally important to tie these in with what your customers need or are looking for.
4. Keep your customers/clients in mind at every stage
Who are your customers? Create a reference document with a list of who your customers are/are going to be. Talk to any existing customers that you have, send them a survey, or ask their opinions directly if you’re able to. Listen carefully to all their feedback, not just the positive points but the negative ones too as these are often more important. Write down what’s important to them and how your brand could address any issues etc.
Also, consider any barriers that your customers might have to buying your products or engaging with your services. For example, are your price points compared to other options available? If not, it’s important to highlight any added value that justifies any additional cost. Try to answer their questions within your brand communications before they have a chance to enter their minds.
5. Consider how you will push out your brand message
Once you have your brand defined, it’s important to then consider where to place yourself within the market so that you can be seen by your prospective customers/clients. Use the customer research you have already conducted to align your brand marketing strategy to where they are looking for your products or services.
For example, if you’ve chosen to go down an informal route and your business is in the eCommerce space, you could use the information you’ve gathered to push communications out on social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. If you’ve chosen a more formal tone of voice for your brand, then you may want to consider using a more formal platform such as Google or industry-specific publications and websites.
Closing Thoughts
Overall, there’s a lot that you can be doing to help to define your brand and help your business to grow without the help of a professional design agency. Whether you’re wanting to improve your fashion branding or your healthcare business. If the budget does allow it, however, you may want to consider engaging with a design agency Leeds based or your nearest city to help walk you through the branding process and define everything for you.
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