Article Contributed by Dan Razak
Once your business becomes a brand, all your marketing efforts get much simpler. Instead hunting for attention, people start looking for your new products and even begin anticipating their release as soon as it gets announced. However, a new company has a long way to go from making its first branding steps to becoming a full-fledged brand. With this in mind, and without further ado, here are few tips to start making your business into a strong brand.
Take a Stand
They say that no publicity is bad publicity and although this attitude can be controversial, there is some truth to it. As long as this ‘bad’ publicity is related to some community-relevant topic and not your way of doing business, you are fine. You see, by being always politically correct you are bound to remain unnoticed, but by taking a stand, you are bound to evoke strong emotions in people in your surroundings. Sure, those criticizing will be loud and aggressive, but this can also inspire those who feel the same as you do to stand by your side. Like the great Winston Churchill once said: “You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.”
Coming Up with a Great Name
Another thing you need to think about is the name of your company. Sure, picking something that sounds good and is currently unused is never easy, but it is something you will have to think about sooner or later. The reason why business name ideas carry so much weight is because they come to stand on your logo and every product you produce, therefore also becoming the name of your company. Furthermore, you should look if the same name can be used for your domain, as well. While you are at it (and if your funds allow it) it might also be worth your while to purchase few most common mispronunciations and misspellings of your company, just so you can ensure people looking for you can find you.
Local or Global Campaign
Well, this question in particular is something that mostly depends on your competition. You see, if you decide to start producing and distributing soft drinks, it would be absurd to assume that you can compete with giants like Coca Cola. In this case, it would be best for you to start with a smaller regional campaign and try to build up a loyal customer base founded on local-patriotism. On the other hand, if the industry is fairly new or growing, it’s free-for-all and you can try and make a name for yourself on a global level.
Brand Ambassadors
Finally, you need to find a way to turn your loyal customers into brand ambassadors. This is not as difficult as it sounds. Every person content with your products is bound to make a mention of it to at least some of their friends or relatives. In this way, your business gets a word of the mouth endorsement which is by far the most credible support you can receive. In other words, instead of paying influencers to use your product or service, you should make it so great that ordinary users feel the need to brag about it.
Conclusion
No matter how you do it, a real brand is not something you can just build overnight. It is all about making a strong relationship with your clients and this takes time. The key thing here is trust. When they decide to pay you for your services or product, they trust that your performance/quality will meet their expectations. By meeting these expectations, you have made the first move towards creating this bond. What you need to do next is strengthen it with the aid of some spot-on marketing and there you have it.
Dan Radak is a marketing professional with ten years of experience. He is a coauthor on several websites and regular contributor to BizzMark Blog. Currently, he is working with a number of companies in the field of digital marketing, closely collaborating with a couple of e-commerce companies.