Guest post by Grant Polachek
Over the years, we’ve seen entrepreneurs leap headfirst into the sea of business, only to discover that lurking under the surface were ravenous sharks waiting to consume them.
In a video, Elon Musk revealed that in order to make better Tesla vehicles, he must upgrade the facilities that produce them. The same thing is true for every entrepreneur looking to create a strong brand with a distinctive product that stands out in the marketplace.
And when it comes to creating a strong brand, there are numerous challenges to conquer, skills to master, and trends to explore. And to help you get the best result, we prepared a simple path that’ll save you time and make the process of creating a great brand much easier.
Here’s what we’ll be looking into:
- What branding looks like in 2022
- Why every company needs a strong brand
- Here are 7 must-know secrets to launching a successful brand in 2022
- Don’t be a bystander
What Branding Looks Like in 2022
Branding has always been about discovering, creating, and implementing unique elements in your business so that customers can associate your brand with more than just your products or services.
But in 2022, branding has fully progressed from providing a robust market foundation to giving your company a personality, beliefs, and goals that customers can identify with. Branding humanizes your business, gives it a personality, and makes it interesting, likable, and engaging.
Understand that for your company’s brand to look genuine; it must involve every aspect of your business.
Why Every Company Needs a Strong Brand
It’s reasonable to say that the enormous inflow of startups that entered the market during the pandemic has changed the face of business.
And, because this revolution is sweeping the globe, it’s critical to understand that business has advanced beyond products and services, and your brand is now the first thing potential customers consider when selecting whether or not to do business with you.
As a result, failing to build a well-branded company can significantly hinder the growth of your business by making it generic, unable to attract consumers, and less recognizable to your target demographic. It would also erode your existing customer’s loyalty, harm consumer recommendations, and more than double advertising expense.
It’s no longer a secret that, in return for excellent customer service, people would pay 16% more on any product or service. So, make sure your business focuses on more than simply logos and taglines; it should also provide an excellent combination of values and visions, as well as build strong customer connections.
Here are the 7 Must-Know Secrets to Launching a Successful Brand in 2022
Launching a unique brand that would appeal to your target audience is not an easy task. That’s because it requires a thorough understanding of your business, goods, consumer behavior, and a few other variables that we’ll discuss below.
So get your pen and paper ready as we delve into seven secrets for creating a successful company.
1. Balance your Brand with Passion and Consistency
Building a solid brand takes time, and if you want to be successful, you must be dedicated and persistent because business success stems from your company’s commitment to its vision and goals.
The Journal of Advertising Research revealed that companies that display a passion for their products and services have a greater positive influence on their audience. And that’s because customers feel that the brand’s enthusiasm will motivate them to work harder and deliver high-quality products.
If your company must succeed in the long run, you need to be passionate and dedicated to achieving your branding goals. Every business that became success was fuelled by the passion of their founders, so make sure you remain enthusiastic about your business at all times.
2. Conduct in-depth market research
Conducting thorough market research is essential for creating a memorable brand. So, invest your time to learn everything you can about your target consumer demographics, competition, and the industry. This information will assist you in developing a brand identity that is appropriate for your target market.
So start your research by conducting a customer survey to get as much information as possible on your target audience. Learn about their preferences, what motivates them to buy a product, and how they respond to rival products.
Don’t forget to carefully look into your competitors and discover what features set your company apart from its competition. Now focus on improving this quality so you can provide your customers with something your competitors can’t.
3. Discover your brand’s identity
Your brand identity isn’t just your company’s personality; it’s also the promise your business is making to your customers. Your company’s identity embodies what your brand says, your values, how you convey your products, and how you want customers to feel when they connect with your brand.
So, to create the perfect brand identity, you must first understand your business. And you can do that quickly by organizing all you’ve learned about your business into the areas below:
- Big Ideas: What are the major concepts powering your company?
- Values: What personal business values and dreams drive your brand?
- Story: What motivated you to start your company in the first place?
- Benefits: What unique benefits do you provide your clients?
- Emotions: What strong emotion(s) would you like your audience to feel?
- Value proposition: Why should customers patronize your brand?
Understanding the fundamental elements of your brand will assist you in building a brand that correctly represents your company and sets you on the path to developing a brand promise that will set your company apart from rivals. It will also help you create a compelling value proposition that will resonate with your target market.
4. Find a powerful brand name
Every business owner must invest their time in developing a powerful brand name that not only excites their target audience but also helps them stand out.
A great name is an asset that no business can afford to ignore. Companies like Starbucks, Nike, Amazon, and Apple are all successful today because, besides their amazing products, they all had short, memorable, and distinctive names.
Strong brand names outshine weaker names by up to 33% on the stock market, so choose a wonderful name to represent your brand. And using a powerful company name generator is one of the quickest methods of coming up with a memorable brand name.
And, just like Oreo outperformed Hydrox in terms of success just by having a more appealing brand name, your business can outperform all of its competitors if it has the most memorable brand name.
5. Let your business embody your brand
It’s vital to your success that you infuse your brand’s personality into every aspect of your business in ways that clients can perceive—not just on your website and social media pages but also in your actual locations.
Customers will better understand your business’s personality if you incorporate your brand identity into your physical store because physical surroundings are excellent tools for assessing the business that occupies them.
Branding your workspace increases staff productivity by up to 20% while also improving customer satisfaction. So choose colors and furnishings that reflect the personality of your company while designing your office.
If your company is committed to environmental preservation, your office space should reflect this with natural lighting, renewable energy, living plants, and environmentally friendly products.
And you risk losing credibility and authenticity in the sight of your customers if your company’s work environment doesn’t reflect your brand’s personality.
6. Get your company active on social media
The extent to which our lives have migrated online has been growing rapidly since the Covid epidemic. And every company that wants to develop strong ties with its customers must also be active online.
Given that your brand is only as strong as its recognition, you must be persistent in marketing your brand via social media to your target audience.
While the epidemic was raging, 90% of businesses relied on social media to raise and maintain brand awareness, so make sure your company is active and always in front of your target audience.
Using social media, blog posts, and email newsletters to distribute your brand’s content is a great way to increase your brand’s following and regularly keep your company in front of new people.
Also, don’t ignore using social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn to build an online community that educates and builds trust with your target audience.
Influencer marketing is another critical factor to consider because It’ll assist you in expanding the popularity of your business by utilizing the influencer’s active user base. Not to mention that it can promote your business by giving it the much-needed social proof.
7. Collaborate with other brands
Don’t overlook the value of partnering with other local businesses when it comes to establishing your brand. Collaborate with other local companies to conduct seminars, trade shows, philanthropic events and sponsor youth or children’s sports programs.
Participating in community events is a wonderful way to introduce your business to your target audience as a company that not only shares its values, goals, and dreams but is also committed to community development.
You can even take this collaboration a step further by forming a co-branding partnership with another business. Uber’s partnership with Spotify, GoPro’s partnership with RedBull, and BMW’s partnership with Louis Vuitton helped these companies increase their customer base, market share, brand image, and consumer loyalty.
Don’t be a Bystander
Just like everyone wants to be remembered for something, companies want to be recognized for their outstanding products and remarkable services.
And even though developing a great brand isn’t an easy affair, and many businesses have failed along the way, it shouldn’t stop you from putting your heart, soul, and sweat into creating a brand that people will adore.
So get inspired and pursue your dreams by following the ideals set down by successful entrepreneurs like Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, and Jeff Bezos, who committed their time, money, and energy to build their business.
Author bio
Grant Polachek is the Head of Branding at Inc 500 company Squadhelp.com, the worlds #1 naming platform, with 30,000+ customers from early-stage startups across the globe to the largest corporations including Nestle, Philips, Hilton, Pepsi, and AutoNation.
All illustrations are from storyset.com.
