In an earlier blog titled ‘Why is branding important?’, I provided six reasons to show the importance of branding and how it provides a foundation for a marketing strategy. In ‘How do I build a brand?’, I am going to focus on brand development, and how a number of elements can be integrated into a strategic process to build a brand.
How do I build a brand?
When you think about brand names, which immediately come to mind? Apple? Google? McDonalds? Nike?
None of these household names began life as the brand of choice for millions!
For example, MacDonald’s began as just one small drive-in barbeque restaurant in 1940. The owners (brothers Richard and Maurice (“Mac”) McDonald) revamped it in 1948 changing the menu from barbeque to hamburgers, and a global success was born!
Like any well-known brand, McDonald’s went through a brand development process to grow the business, increase brand presence and become the burger brand of choice for millions of people worldwide.
So, I hear you ask, how do I build a brand and what is the brand development process?
Brand development comprises six components or elements.
- Product to Market Fit
This is all about the problem your product/service solves for prospective customers.
You need to:
- Research the market to find out what the demand is and whether your product/service can fill potential gaps.
- Understand your competitors and how they operate within the market.
- Identify your target market and potential customers.
- Does your product/service offer a significant improvement? Discover customers’ pain points and focus on the problem your product/service can solve..
- Validate that there is a demand for your product in the marketplace and it is big and sustainable enough for you to go into production. Is the timing right?
- Use feedback from customers to make improvements, refining your product/service to better meet customers’ needs.
- Brand Positioning
Positioning is about how you want your brand to be perceived in the marketplace in relation to competitors. For your brand to become the brand of choice, you need to make sure that it is positioned differently than your competitors in order to stand out in customers’ minds.
- Define your brand values, purpose, mission and goals.
- Identify what makes your brand different than others in the marketplace. What are its unique characteristics and benefits lacked by competitors’ brands? This is called the Unique Value Proposition(UVP.)
- Differentiate your brand from the competition by highlighting these unique characteristics.
- Create a brand positioning statement to define its position within the marketplace.
- Customer Persona and the Buyer’s Journey
How do I build a brand? An integral part of successfully building a brand is to really know the customer.
The better you know your customer the stronger their relationship will be with your brand.
Create detailed customer personas by developing profiles to represent your ideal customers. Understand their needs and behaviours, their demographics and what their pain points are.
The buyer’s journey is about the process customers go through to make a purchase. Outline each stage from their awareness of your brand to purchase and post-purchase. Here are some factors to consider:
- How did they learn about your brand?
- What factors influence their buying decision?
- Why did they choose your brand rather than the competition?
- What motivates them?
- How can you make sure they are satisfied with your product and will buy again?
- How can you build trust and brand loyalty?
- How can you connect with your customers emotionally, so they literally ‘buy’ into your brand?
- Brand Messaging
There are a lot of products in the marketplace that may answer customers’ needs.
When tackling the question ‘How do I build a brand?’, you need to ensure your brand stands out from the noise created by competitors. Effective communication means being clear about your brand identity and values.
One of the key elements of brand identity is your brand story. This creates a connection with the target audience and helps to differentiate one brand from another in a crowded marketplace.
A brand story should clearly communicate brand values and the brand promise.
- Develop core messages that highlight the benefits, personality and UVP of your brand.
- Communication across all channels should be consistent in content and tone of voice while reflecting brand identity.
- Communicate clearly and concisely and use understandable language to get your messages across.
- Bringing a Brand to Life
I talked about bringing a brand to life in my blog ‘the key elements of brand identity.’ All brand elements should be designed around your customer personas, brand positioning and brand messaging.
Touchpoints, whether online or physical, should resonate with your target audience, be consistent and reinforce brand identity.
Use creative content, whether videos, graphics or stories, to support your brand messaging, connect with your audience and engage with them emotionally.
This can be taken a step further by implementing brand experiences that will create memorable moments for your customers. A good example of this is the M & S Sparks card, which offers tasting events, sale previews, offers and other brand experiences to members. This builds trust and loyalty by elevating their perception and experience of the brand.
- Brand Marketing
The final component of ‘How do I build a brand?’ is to establish your brand in the marketplace:
- Identify the most effective channels for reaching your target audience. Where do they hang out?
- Establish a relationship with your target audience through advertising, inbound marketing, social media, email marketing, effective use of organic and technical SEO, influencers, great testimonials etc.
- Consistency is king! Ensure brand messaging is consistent and maximise reach through multiple channels.
- Keep going with brand marketing campaigns until you being to see brand awareness, a response from your target audience and an increased demand for your product/service.
- Use analytics to measure the success of your brand marketing campaigns and adjust according to the results and feedback.
How do I build a brand?
By integrating the components I have outlined in this blog, you will be able to build a strong brand that will have impact in the marketplace and resonate with your target audience.
However, if you still feel a bit bamboozled by brand development and would like the advice of an expert, you can book a book a brew with me, Clare. I am a branding expert and would love to answer your question ‘How do I build a brand?’. So, if you want to learn more about effective brand development and how to make your brand stand apart from the noise in the marketplace, contact me today!
