10 Key steps to creating a strong brand.

Branding your business is one of the first steps to building a strong, successful, and sustainable business. It is much more than simply creating a logo or identity for your business. By going through the steps to comprehensively brand your business, you are doing five critical things;

1. You are telling the story of your business, why you exist and how you are different from your competitors.

2. You are building a relationship with your audience and gaining their trust.

3. You are identifying the priorities for your business because all decisions will subsequently align to your mision, vision, and goals.

4. You are generating value for your business. A business with a strong brand presence is simply worth more.

5. You are saving yourself time and money from costly mistakes down the road.

If you’re ready to brand your business here are 10 key steps to take. Check out this article on how to DIY your brand if you absolutely have to do it yourself. Our online branding course, Brand Roadmap Essentials, is also a great way to walk though the process step-by-step with guidance from branding professionals. And, of course if you would like Look See Studio to work with you on developing your brand, please reach out, we’d love to learn more.

In either case, these are the 10 fundamental steps to developing a brand for your business!

1. Set Business Goals.
   Identify the short and long term goals for your business. This serves as a grounding point and a reminder of why you are here in the first place.

2. Craft your mission & vision statements.
   Your mission should be action-oriented and explain succinctly why you are in business and your vision should be aspirational, what do you hope to achieve.

3. Highlight how you are different.
   Express your unique value propositions and articulate how and why you are different from your competitors.

4. Position yourself.
   Where do you stand in the market with regard to price and product/service? Who are your competitors? Are there any holes in the market that you can fill? What is your niche?

5. Know your audience, create personas.
   Detail your audience(s) – their demographics, psychographics, cultural practices, needs, and habits.

6. Write your brand story.
   Using the narrative arc, write the story of your brand. Who is the hero, the villain, what is the main obstacle and how is it overcome?

7. Set your tone & personality.
   What is the personality of your business and what do you sound like in your marketing communication? Speak to your audience in a way they can understand.

8. Make some taglines.
   Short catchy phrases that further distill your brand story are used on your website and in marketing materials.

9. Create an identity.
   Either hire a freelance designer or use design software to create a compelling logo that speaks to your audience – use vector graphics only! Choose a color palette that enhances the tone and personality of your brand and select your typefaces as well as the type of imagery you will use to engage your audience.

10. Map your brand touchpoints.
    Plot your customer's journey, where, when, how will they interface with your brand and how will you show up!

As you can see creating a brand for your business or professional service goes well beyond simply making a logo. It is actually a comprehensive and strategic plan that forms the foundation for your business guiding how you enter and operate in the marketplace. It shapes how you are perceived and generates trust with your audience. Too many people overlook this important step when starting up a business, which can be a costly mistake.