How to brand your startup business the right way

One of the worst things about the world of business is that you can have the best idea ever but the business doesn’t even begin to take off because a lack of marketing, or the wrong marketing means your target audience either hasn’t heard of you or has heard of you but doesn’t know how you can make their lives better.

As a startup, your business will go nowhere if people don’t recognise you. To get them to recognise you, and get them to associate you with certain things, you need to build a brand.

Building a brand for a business is very difficult when there are so many competitors. It is especially difficult for startups to stand out from the crowd.

Here are a few of Pearl’s best tips on branding a startup business the right way.

What is it you’re all about?

Every business, if it wants to stand out from the competition, needs to know what the whole point of it is. Look at car manufacturers, for example: Ferrari and Fiat are both car brands; in fact, they were until very recently both part of the same company. But people still associate them with very different purposes – everybody knows that you go to Ferrari if you want a really expensive, luxury car, whereas you are more likely to go to Fiat if you want a family car.

Decide what it is that your brand does differently from your competitors.

Look at what your competitors are doing right and then do something different

It is tempting to look at what your more successful competitors are doing and then try to copy their brand and hopefully their success. But think about it for a second: if you copy your competitors, why would your target audience go to you when they are already going to your competitors?

Try to do something that your competitors aren’t doing to give people a reason to like your brand instead.

Find a name that reflects your brand

Brand names are very important. It is how your target audience and customers know who you are. After you have devised a branding strategy for your startup business you should spend a considerable amount of time on generating a brand name which reflects your branding.

Be bold and stand out

The visuals of your brand are just as important as your brand name. Visuals include things like colours and logos, and should be used across your brand so that it sticks in people’s minds.

A brand doesn’t become well-known overnight

You also need to know that brands do not become well-known overnight. You may love your brand, but it will take time for your target audience to love it too, or even recognise it, for that matter.