It’s About Looks, Sometimes! Four Things Your Brand Needs To Pop!
***Contributed Post
When you are trying to establish your business brand, you are likely to look at what your competition is up to and move forward from there. Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but you have to be able to own your brand without a cheap copy of others. Branding is no longer an option for businesses these days, not when you need a strong website, a solid social media presence and merchandise that can knock the socks off even the trendiest client out there. You have to be so mindful about the brand that your business has because this is the face that you will be showing to the world.
When you think about the biggest companies out there, you associate them with names. Oprah Winfrey, for example, is not just the name of the host of a show, she’s a brand, in the same way that McDonald’s is recognised worldwide for its golden arches and McNuggets. Looks DO matter, and whether you are currently crunching the numbers to fit a good social media boost to your website or you’re thinking about labeling solutions for your products; everything that you do has to reflect your brand and what you want to achieve. There are a lot of things that a business needs to achieve to establish a recognisable and competitive brand, and four of those things are listed below:
A Vision. No, you don’t physically need glasses for this, but you do need to be able to see into the future and envision where you want your business to go. You need to have an understanding of what your business is and what you want it to accomplish. Once you have that, you have a purpose.
A Message. You have to have something that speaks to people. A message is something that is unique to your business compared to the competition that you could come up against. You need to know what you want to say to people and you need to say it louder than anyone else in your industry. This way, people can sit up and take notice.
An Audience. While you ponder the message that you want to send out to the world, you need to know who your audience is. They are going to be the ones that receive your message and you want them to receive it well. Consider your message against your audience and learn where to market them together.
A Coach. Some small startups have no idea what they’re doing in terms of branding, which can make for a very messy brand. A coach or mentor in the field who has walked the walk before can give you the guidance that you need.
Branding is going to set you apart from the other companies in your industry that you will be competing with. You are your brand, so the real question is how you want people to see you. Once you know that, you can move forward to success.