Now ain’t that the $64million question!
Creating a new brand for your organisation can be daunting. How much is it going to cost? What’s the process? Do I need an agency? Where do I start? Creating a new brand doesn’t need to be complicated though. In fact, the most inspiring brands are often the simplest. With this in mind, here’s our seven-step process to help you create your own brand:
1. Do your homework
As with most things in business, a little bit of research can go a long way. When creating your own brand think about:
- Customers: Who are the audiences for your brand? What do they want? What makes them buy from you? There are plenty of resources on the web, but the best thing is, simply, to ask them. The key is to make sure your brand fits what they want.
- Competitors: Who else do your customers buy from? Why? Are they low cost, or charge premium prices? How are you better than them? How are they better than you? What kind of messages do they include in their advertising? To beat the competition, you need to give people a clear reason to buy from you.
- Your company: What are your strengths and weaknesses? What do your customers currently think of you? Your brand needs to represent one of your true strengths.
2. Involve other people
We’ve already suggested involving your customers. But there’s one other key group to involve in the process – the people you work with. Customer facing staff in particular, will have a good understanding of what customers want and what the business strengths are. The key reason to involve them early though, is longer term success. Employees who help contribute to creating your brand will be more committed to its making it work.
3. Ask ‘Why? What? How?’
Now is the time to really understand who you are, and what you have to offer your customers. ‘Why? What? How? Three simple questions that can help define your brand. Why do people need you? What products and services will you offer? How do you do things? The point is to be clear and concise about what your brand stands for.
4. Create more than a logo
A brand is more than a logo. It’s what you stand for. What you represent to your customers. And, a full visual and verbal system. The logo, typeface, colours, photography style and how you write, will all help build your personality and communicate how you want your brand to feel. Modern or historic, calm or energetic, friendly or corporate.
5. Think about the experience
Inspiring brands are created by thinking beyond marketing. How does your brand affect your customer experience? How are your products designed? Map out your full customer journey and look for ‘moments of truth’ – where can your brand really make a difference and deliver a stand-out experience to your customers? If you want your brand to stand for speed, your after-sales service had better be quick!
6. Tell your story
People love stories. Time to tell yours. They’re an exceptionally powerful way to help people understand and connect with your brand – internally and externally. Think about the stories you have in your business that reflect the brand you’re trying to build and use them in advertising, on the web, face-face, on your shop wall or in content marketing.
7. Keep evolving
The world is constantly changing. And, if not properly managed, your brand will get left behind. It’s important to key evolving and developing your brand to keep it in-tune with the needs of your customers. How do you do that? Ask them!
Where next?
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