Building a Brand

Developing a brand starting from the earliest stage stands apart is no simple assignment.

What should it look like? How should it make people feel? Will it resonate with my target audience? These are questions that inevitably come up when you start thinking about how to connect the dots between what you’re selling and who you’re trying to reach. Whether you’ve got nothing but a business idea or want to pivot your existing brand, here’s what you need to know about building a strong brand identity for your business.

What exactly is a brand?

A brand isn’t just a recognisable name and logo that distinguishes you in a crowded and overpopulated market.

Your brand is how people perceive you wherever they interact with your business and both the impressions you can control and the ones you can’t.

When you think about it, people have personal brands, too. We each have a name, a face, a style, a way of communicating, and with these traits, we make different impressions on different people.

Likewise, businesses have names, products, logos, colours, fonts, voices and reputations that make up what they are and affect how they’re perceived.

You can’t build a brand without being consistent and maintaining that consistency as you extend your brand to every part of your business. But it all starts with establishing what that consistency is going to look like and the feeling you want it to evoke.

How to build a brand

Building your own brand essentially boils down to seven steps:

1.           Research your target audience and your competitors.

2.           Pick your focus and personality.

3.           Choose your business name and write your slogan.

4.           Choose the look of your brand (colours and font) and develop some guidelines.

5.           Design your logo and apply your branding across your business.

While you might revisit some steps as you pivot your brand, it’s important that you consider each aspect. Now you’re ready to shape your brand identity and develop it into a and brand.