startup

How to build Branding in early days of your startup:

What is branding? Brand is make of a product, branding is reputation of that make. However, the word BRAND has its significance because brand means grand in people’s mind. For instance, we look for MacDonald’s or Subway logo instead of looking for an EXIT to stop and refresh in a long drive . Do you need any other classic example than this? Well, how to build branding in early days of startup. It is a big topic to discuss, let me put it as short as possible in this article.

Ideally, it takes minimum 5- 10 years to build such a great brand. However, majority of the startups don’t have that luxury to wait years together in the current scenario. To my knowledge building a brand is in two ways 1. Building brand in customer’s mind 2. Building brand in customer’s heart. The second point doesn’t have any short ways. You need to be patient However, let me take up the first point.

Building brand in customer’s mind:

Building brand in mind is the first step to build in the heart as building in heart takes longer time. How to do? What is the process?

Create a logo:

Creating a logo is first step to create an identity of a business. If possible represent your product in it, as I said in my earlier articles keep it simple and use just two colors so it looks cute and minimizes cost in printing and branding. Logo is a unique identity, maintain consistency in colors and text/picture otherwise you can’t carry any value to it.

Identify target set of customers:

Identifying target audience is another important activity for any business. You need to let everyone knows about your existence. I would suggest list out few physical and virtual points to reach your target customers. Based on the nature of business It could be malls, social media etc. Demonstrate them about product and convince them with uniqueness.

Create trust to the customer:

Creating trust is long term activity. I would suggest start with a promise which you can fulfill without fail. It is the first step to have bonding with customer. For instance, a newly launched product provide more warranty period than existing products to create trust.

Stick to something you believe in:

Criticism is quite common in life and it is pretty easy than provide support. People will criticize and suggest you many things. However, stick to something which you believe in and keep improve the product/service based on right feedback. Apparently, don’t follow or mimic established brand. Set your own path and style to penetrate, otherwise you will remain as copy cat.

Create right brand strategy:

We have four steps to create brand strategy with different set of activities based on the phase on business.

• Identity (Salience)–> Need to plan branding activities to create identity.
• Meaning –> Need to plan branding activities based on the performance of the brand.
• 3.Response–> Activities based on the customer feedback and improvement.
• Relationship–> Build a strong mechanism to keep the relationship safe forever.

Every startup should start the journey from bottom of pyramid to create identity of brand. Come up with multiple ways to reach customers based on target customers to create first step.

Don’t forget your branding in communication:

Put  your logo, consider embedding description about product, deals of product somewhere in the communication gently. Your logo and product has to be registered in the mind.

Never leave the customer in middle:

The best branding every company should do is: When a customer is being struggled with your product, be with him, don’t leave in middle, support him take the product back and fix the problem. This is the only way of creating confidence to the customer.

Dear entrepreneurs please be aware branding doesn’t mean pure sales. It creates identification and awareness. Don’t expect immediate returns on investment in branding as it works as slow poison. The awareness or identification that you are creating today may convert as a lead tomorrow, a week later or a month later. Customer should realize that your existence when they need, this is what branding is.

Rich way of create branding at initial stages:

Finally, if you got good seed fund and you are pretty confident about product. Engage a celebrity who already has self branding as brand ambassador, spend good money in PR activities and launch the product in big way. This activity is purely depends on the nature of product, available funds otherwise I don’t suggest.

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