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Building a brand that resonates with and engages your audience is one of the most important elements in creating a successful product or business. A brand is so much more than your company name and logo. It’s also your mission and values, customer and employee value propositions, customer perceptions about your product or service and more. Your brand lays the foundation for building a mutually beneficial relationship with your target audience.

A brand that relates to customers is one that drives action and demand. Through your branding, customers learn how they can benefit from your products and services. It’s critical to take your brand strategy seriously. Read on to learn steps you can take to build a strong brand.

Finding Your Audience: 

To create a successful brand, you must first consider your target audience. Who are you trying to reach? Men or women? Young adults or Baby Boomers? Is your business focused on a region of the country or global? Specifying the attributes of your target audience allows you to customize your key messages to the needs and wants of your audience.

Evaluating the Competition: 

Researching the positioning of your competitors will help you identify what differentiates your business in the market. Understand how your competitors and their products or services are perceived. Take what you learned through your research to create messaging that highlights the differentiators and apply that messaging on your website and in marketing collateral and campaigns. 

Creating a Logo: 

Constructing a logo should evoke everything that makes up your brand. Your logo needs to be true to your brand, memorable and distinctive. If your brand personality is “young” and “creative,” then the logo should represent the aesthetic.

Write Down Your Key Messages:

Key messages define what your brand does, what it stands for and what it aspires to be. The messages need to be relatable to effectively connect with your key audience. As you develop key messages for your brand consider: 

  • What your business does
  • Its value to its customers
  • What makes it unique.
  • Its qualities and benefits
  • What your business believes in
  • What you are striving for

 

Making Sure Your Actions and Words Match:

What you say about your brand and your products or services must align with the actions of your leaders and employees. When what you say and what you do are misaligned, you risk losing the trust of your customers, trust that you’ve invested blood, sweat and tears to build. A brand that strengthens relationships will drive revenue and create brand advocates. 

Be Consistent: 

Consistency is key. The look and feel of your brand must be consistent across all consumer touchpoints. That means using the same colors, design, and typeface on all materials inside and outside of your company. You must also adapt your key messaging for all marketing and public relations materials. No one can control your brand better than you.