Before you can market anything, You first need to define your brand. A well-defined brand helps you evaluate any future marketing materials — from your logo to your website layout and the even the color of your business cards! Once you have defined your brand, you will be able to create a foundation for your marketing efforts and strategies.Read below for the 9-step process to define your brand!
Step 1: How Does Your Audience Perceive You?
A brand identity can be the foundation for developing customer loyalty, customer retention, and a competitive advantage. Think of your brand identity as how your audience perceives you. On any given day, they judge you by how you present yourself. Without a clear, consistent identity, your audience might not know who you are. In the end, you need to make personal connections. Think of Walmart – although a global brand, they brand themselves as your local friendly store. They even have greeters that say hello to customers upon entering the store.
Step 2: What Are Your Values?
When it comes to branding and identity, it’s all about a brand’s values. They’re the things that make you different from other companies. They need to convey a personality and be memorable. If you create an identity that doesn’t match your company’s values, people won’t know what kind of product you offer or who you are as a company. You need to be honest with yourself about what your brand identity is and make sure it aligns with the values of your company.
Step 3: What Is The Tone & Personality of Your Business?
What is your business? What does your company stand for? Think of your company as a person. What is his or her personality like? How would other people describe him or her? How would you describe yourself to someone you’ve just met? These four questions help you put yourself inside your brand.
Step 4: What Problems Does Your Product or Service Solve?
Your customer’s problem led them to you. You understand their need because you know their pain. Learning how you help the customer solve a problem is essential when creating a brand new e-commerce store or building an e-commerce site upon an existing brand. Yes, it’s important to learn everything you can about your products and services, but knowing how your product solves a problem is essential for building trust and credibility with your potential customers and clients.
Step 5: Identify Your Audience’s Pain Points
Pain points are key when creating an identity for your brand. Customers need to know how you can help them solve a problem that they’re having. Remember, the problem you solve should be much more important than what you sell.
Step 6: Determine Your Brand’s Personality
Every company has a personality. A brand should be able to express itself in a relatable fashion—giving customers a direct, personal connection with the brand. Brands that are able to demonstrate their personality through branding find it much easier to connect to and inspire their customers.
Step 7: What Emotional Impact Does Your Brand Have?
A brand’s ability to connect with its customer base is just as important as a fast website or a beautifully presented product inventory. Emotional connection with customers is something businesses must pay attention to. An incredibly useful tool for brands to use is a customer service center which conveys the level of dedication and care that every single customer deserves.
Step 8: 5 Words To Describe Your Business
What 5 words describe your business? How do your customers describe your store or business? Here’s an exercise that will help you define your brand’s personality and personality traits. Sit down (preferably with a group of five or six people) and come up with five adjectives that define your brand’s personality the most. It’s important to keep the list to only five adjectives, otherwise, you won’t be narrow-focused on your brand’s personality.
Step 9: Other Questions To Consider For Your Branding
- What are the core values of your company?
- What is the mission of your company?
- What does your company specialize in?
- Who is your target market audience?
- What is the tagline for your company?
Once you’ve sat down and answered these questions, you should have a strong idea about your company’s brand identity, if not – feel free to reach out to us and we’ll be happy to assist!