Guidelines For Branding Your Business

By definition, brand strategy is a long-term plan for the development of a successful brand in order to achieve specific goals. A well-defined and executed brand strategy affects all aspects of a business and is directly connected to consumer needs, emotions, and competitive environments. Based on this definition, would you say that you are brand aware? If not, then let's consider some information that will help you learn more about developing a clear brand for your small business; and also let you know you can do this on a budget. iComEx is here to assist you in learning about what a brand is, defining what it is for your business, and then communicating who you are to your potential clients. For 20 years, that has been our focus: You, and helping you be successful with what you do and who your are. Let's get started!

Branding On A Budget:

Know who you are trying to reach is a critical first step. It means that you must know their needs, goals, and their behavior. Your potential customers will determine how you convey your product or service. If you get that, then understanding what kind of media those customers are being motivated by and where they actually live online. Having this type of knowledge will help you develop a compelling effective brand that will reach the right people. Ask yourself the question about who is the person I am trying to reach; how you want to be perceived by them, and maintain contact points with them numerous times per year.

Try to begin this process and execute a better value proposition to potential new clients that exhibit the qualities of those you are trying to reach. Finding common ground means they can relate and will want more branding that benefits both you and their business goals. Remember branding crosses all media. Websites, marketing materials, social media, videos, podcasts, and more. Everytime you inform, you must brand who you are. Doing so keeps people aware of who you are.

Make sure that you develop an identity and a voice for your brand. If you identify your buyer and their characteristics, the brand begins to take shape in the form of a brand identity. Those things that identify to them what your brand is, the voice it has and the tone used to communicate that voice in all communications to the public at large.

If you invite a stronger brand voice, it can become a priority that will increase your online presence and drive traffic to your website.

Provide a consistent social media presence to all your potential clients. That means you know who these potential clients are, what to say to them, how to say it, and now finding where are they is next. Consistent voice does tell your audience who you are. It also tells where they spend their time and most especially on social media.

Once you realize that someone spends more time on Facebook than on Twitter, then targeting them where they already are is the quickest way to approach them. From there you can move forward. If you also understand that other profiles do use five major social media platforms -- Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter; then by paying attention to all that information you know you can dedicate and delegate the most information to the highest percentage of activity.

Now, once you do establish that presence, maintain it. That is the critical key for having a real presence. Positive impact means keeping current that branding voice and that you are having a maximum impact on their perception of who you are.

Updating your website on a regular basis means planning and scheduling social media posts like you would with any other marketing calendar are required. If you already have a marketing plan in place, reinforce that with your social media. Think of seasonality of the industry, and relevance to your audience all year long keeps them coming back for more. 

Do you blog? A blog can be a person, a reporter for the industry you share, or simply a concept you maintain. Attraction is great, but methodology and frequency turn that potential client into a regular visitor quite easily.

It could be safe to say that regular blogging might be the most fundamental step of inbound marketing. This option will definitely reach qualified customers, like your personas, by creating the informative content that matches the information they’re searching for. Keeping it relevant to this audience -- when you’re writing, and be sure to optimize that content for searches can measure the success in analysis of who is actually visiting your website or calling to find out more.

Another fact you may need to understand about a blog is that it is reported as the third most trusted source of information; and it can also serve as material to populate your social media networks. Branding is your friend. Remember that this too can be tied to your marketing plan outline and keeping it frequent and fresh with content will help over time. Be sure the look and feel is consistent with your overall brand.

Customer service has become a lost art; and needs to become a priority again. Built in customer service appeal is a basic approach of doing business and establishing core values. Why, it is the cornerstone of any brand. Hands down, if your brand represents quality customer service, you will over the long term save money on marketing and advertising. Word of mouth among an industry of professionals is the epitome of what is termed earned media. An intangible asset that can't be purchased, and when people recognize you as and experience they must have. Go for the Gold! Do your best and treat your clients with respect goes a long way toward their success, and reminds them you and your brand have helped them be successful.

At that point, your brand is to your potential client a value-add proposition across the board. Values, service, and culture all influence perception..

If you are just starting out, your brand will develop over time; but time isn't your desire at that stage. If you can co-brand with someone who has a fully developed brand awareness, then you can by association jump start attention to a much broader audience. Partnership needs to make sense in the mind of your audience, so be sure to take clear advantage of successful co branding partners.

Alliance with your partners means providing your potential clients with trust, confidence, and something they can akin to as a win win relationship by them associating with both brands.

Branding is many things to many people. What may seem impossible to achieve on a budget may not be as difficult as you think. Take a step, then another, develop relationships  and build momentum that will push your brand into the forefront of your industry and reaching the clients you need to attract is your goal. Remember to have fun in this process, and as you grow, add funds where they will do the most good. Strategy and simple logic with creativity is a big part of the success of any brand.

Get Busy And Get Branded Today! Call iComEx and let's sit down and develop a long term goal with the right strategies and logical ideas for your business. Help us understand who you want as that ideal client, and then we can get started on branding your company. Success means it's getting the job done for you and for your client as well.

Call Us Today:  972-712-2100