Your brand is the soul of your business, how you look and how you make people feel when they are exploring your enterprise is key to your success so don’t leave it to chance.
Here are my top tips on how to brand your business when you are launching your startup.
Plan your brand potential
When you are starting your business, writing business plans, building contacts, working out budgets, chatting up the accountants the logistics can often blur your creativity and your branding – and its worth taking the time to plan out how your brand will evolve as your business grows.
As with all great ideas, the ones that succeed are the ones with a plan – so plan your brand. Who is your audience? Where do they hang out? What are their regular patterns? What do they like? You’ll need to have this all bottomed out before you get started on your brand-build.
Find your font
Consistency is key when building trust with your customers – humans love routine! Think right down to the tiny details – try to always use the same font and pick a brand colour pallet that you can use in a variety of ways; the bigger picture will become even more stunning when everything comes together.
Get stylish in your language
How you talk to your audiences, across all of your marketing channels is key. The content will obviously change – but the tone should always be the same. Building The Cornwall Camper Company taught me that our customers are not only buying a VW for a holiday hire, they are also buying a lifestyle and they want to slip into that style as soon as they can.
It starts with the first time they look at our website, continues throughout their engagement with us – and does not even finish when they hand back their keys at the end of their trip. We continue to communicate with everyone via email and we keep on giving them the lifestyle through our language and tone – gaining us repeat customers!
Explore your network and test their tastes
Ok – so we say that this is market research – but don’t doubt the value. Yes, everyone will have their own opinion on the colours you should use and the way your website works – but surveys, Facebook updates collecting thoughts and ideas, and jumping on LinkedIn to ask the world a question is a great way to really understand what people are looking for – turning their answers into business solutions is a great way to step in the right direction.
Paint your picture
At the end of the day, your brand is selling a minds-eye view of your business, what you stand for and what your ethos and ethics are. In a world of mass consumer marketing, storytelling is key – and for all us start ups out there – our story is a vital part our brand journey. Even the big brands tell the stories of their founders, how the business was created, how they “made it big” so just remember, by getting your brand right – you are at the start of your own story and people will want to read it, see it and immerse themselves in what you are offering. Make your business an experience, not just a product.
Written by Jess Ratty, founder of The Cornwall Camper Company
