If you had to buy some new products, would you opt for a known brand or go for an unknown or unheard brand?

I am sure the majority of you will go for the more famous brand.

Now, if you are a small business or just a start-up, this may be daunting for you. But there are ways you can build a successful branding for yourself.

Just remember that your business is not going to be successful tomorrow, the next week or the next month. This is going to take time. The effort, the patience and the consistency is what is going to make your brand a popular one.

So, what is a brand?

A brand is one the of the most precious asset of any company.

To say it common terms, we all have names, don’t we?

Humans know each other through their names, face, characters and so on. Just like that, a company is recognized through its brand.

Don’t mistake a brand as just a logo and name. It is much more than that. How the audience perceives and interacts with your business is what actually your brand is.  

I have listed down these 7 steps to help you build a successful brand.

Know your target audience

The first step to make your brand known, is to understand who your target audience is.

Your brand is not for everyone.

So, list down the kind of audience you want to reach out to. Learn about their behaviors, their likes and dislikes and what their needs are. This will give you a narrowed down agenda for your mission. With this information you can create your brand that your target audience will be able to relate to and will take a liking towards it.

Write down a statement for your brand

The next step is to list down your business’s mission. A clear mission statement that will drive your business to be passionate and let all the aspects of your business focus towards it.

A simple way to do this is to list down a few adjectives or phrases that relates with your brand. These will be words that will not only define what your brand is but will also tell the consumers the brand’s personality.

Choose the color and typography

It is now time to decide the theme for your brand – meaning the colors and fonts.

Selecting the colors is actually a very important part while building a brand. There are quite a few things that you need to consider before selecting the colors.

• What vibes does it give?
• Does it represent something negative?
• What color theme is your competitor using?
• How will text look over the colors?

After the color selection, comes the fonts. Don’t distract your audience by using too many fonts. Stick to just 2-3 fonts and use fonts that go together with each other.

The selection of these colors and fonts is specially going to help you at the time of website development.

Design your logo

Once your color palette and typography are in place, go ahead and design your logo.

Many consider logo as the brand for a company and this is true in many cases. It is the face of your company. So, pay special attention on this part.

Your logo should be unique, attractive and something that defines what your business is.

Just remember that this logo is going to appear everywhere – websites, social media, advertisements and many other places.

So, I suggest that you hire a professional, consult with experts and then design your logo.

Use your brand everywhere in your business

Branding is an ongoing process that will always be evolving till your business lasts. Consumers should see and feel your brand whenever possible. It should be visible in a subtle yet promising manner through advertisements, shipping, packaging and product stamps.

Use digital marketing to grow your brand. Make sure to be consistent, make loyal customers and attract new ones as you evolve.  

Conclusion

Brand building can be a slow process but with the right method a small business can become a household name.

As said by Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, “Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room.”

Consumers are the ones who talk about your brand – be it positive or negative. You can never have control over that. But your goal should always be to give good service and stay ahead of your competitors.