It takes a lot to make a business successful and branding certainly contributes significantly to achieving this. If done properly, branding gives a business competitive superiority in a crowded marketplace, conveys the brand message effectively to the target audience and sets it apart from its competition, amongst various other things.
You need a brand and a way to effectively brand yourself - whether the scope of your business is big or small, profitable or non-profitable, B2B or B2C, you need a branding strategy.
If you think you can do without branding yourself just because you’re a start-up, you need to reconsider this entirely! You will have to do a bit more than just getting involved in networking events for your business to take off.
You will have to concentrate hard on branding yourself in a good light so that your customers and clients are convinced with what you’ve got to say and the kind of products and services you wish to sell!
So as a start-up, if you have your doubts about branding, here are some points that will make you think otherwise!
Gives your business a unique identity
Branding your start-up right off the bat is perhaps the best way to go up a notch from your competitors. With an impressive brand name, you can concentrate on acquiring and attracting clientele that’s loyal and targeted.
This is bound to give you a solid competitive edge in the market. You can emphasise all the unique aspects of your business and let your customers know about the gaps you plan to bridge. This way, you will be able to carve out a niche that’s yours and yours alone.
Ensures that your business stays in the market for a long time
A brand that’s well established and well-rooted conveys the message that it is here to stick around. This then becomes a definite stepping stone for start-ups to be the most reliable and identifiable names in their niche.
Branding is not just about having a catchy tagline and an impressive logo; it is about being consistent in the message that you convey to your target audience. Your customers and clients should be able to identify you across all channels, be it ads, promotional items and branding, your website, email campaigns or social media posts.
You’ve branded yourself well if your customers can single you out from the crowd.
Enhances your traction
The way your start-up is branded speaks volumes about your business values as it helps customers associate trust with your brand name. When customers strongly believe in a brand, they’re bound to choose you over your competitors. When this happens, it’s no longer about just attracting customers - good branding will help you retain their goodwill, which is undoubtedly the biggest asset your business can have.
Branding for start-ups thus holds a lot of value as it places a responsible image in the minds of your customers. So working towards gaining that initial traction is extremely important.
Helps develop a good and positive business image
Remember when people judged a brand by what they saw on TV or heard on the radio or maybe read about in a magazine? That’s in the past now.
All that matters today is the number of “comments” and “likes” you get on social media platforms. Getting your brand endorsed by an influencer can give your brand image quite a boost, almost immediately. This doesn’t mean that offline promotional tools are completely dead and gone. You can have influencers hand out promotional pens, t-shirts or mugs as giveaways to your target audience.
Trust and loyalty towards a brand are like Rome - these can’t be built in a day. You will have to ensure that you send out positive messages as a part of the branding plan. This way, your rivals won’t get the chance to get ahead of you and secure the position that you hold in the market. For this, you need to be abreast with the most recent social media trends!
Helps find solutions to issues that customers have
Today, brands connect with their customers over social media and it’s no different for startups. The way you connect with your target audience, engage with them, understand their concerns, while addressing their issues, will go a long way in building a good brand image.
When customers have issues with your product and service, they want speedy solutions for them. So make sure that you resolve their queries at the earliest possible convenience.
To give your branding a nudge in the right direction, get in touch with Supreme Pens today.