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5 Important Steps in Brand Development

by Innov8tiv.com

Did you know it takes people just 10 seconds to create the first impression of your brand? In those 10 seconds, your brand needs to send a message, tell them what it’s about, and get them interested. This is why branding is such a complex and important part of launching a successful business.

You can have the best, highest-quality product, but if you don’t have a well-defined brand, it may not even get noticed. From defining a brand color, logo, and tagline to going deeper into your brand voice and identity, branding takes time to create, but the results are well worth it.

Keep reading to learn the 5 most important aspects of the brand development process and how you can use them to create a brand that people will recognize and remember.

1. Discover Your “Why”

The first step to building a brand is to discover your “why”, i.e. the reason you want to create a brand or a business. You can explore this question from both a personal and a business perspective until you define a strong reason to be. The answer will be your motivator to move forward and succeed.

Some of the best questions to ask yourself, your business partners, and everyone involved in the brand creation process are:

What is the purpose of the brand?

How does the brand help make a positive change in people’s lives?

What makes the brand unique and unlike any other?

In what ways is the brand better than its competitors?

Why should people care about this brand?

Why should people want to invest in this brand?

Why do I want to create this brand?

What am I hoping to achieve with this brand?

As you dive deeper into the answers, you’ll realize that a brand is not just a product or a business. It’s much more than that – it’s an essential part of your customers’ lifestyles, identities, and needs.

2. Define Your Brand Voice, Image, and Identity

Before you learn how to build a brand, you need to learn about the different aspects of a brand, namely brand voice, brand image, and brand identity.

What Is a Brand Voice?

Brand voice is the communication aspect of a brand, i.e. its values, messages, use of language, wording, and communication style. If you know your target market well, it’ll be easy to define and establish a brand voice that’ll speak to them directly.

For example, if your target market is millennials, your brand will use language, phrases, images, channels, and even colors that are typical for the Gen Y crowd. If the brand has multiple different target markets, it can develop different voice styles for different audiences but still keep its signature brand voice.

What Is a Brand Image?

Brand image is the way your customers feel when they interact with your brand. It’s about how they see your brand in their own eyes, which might be completely different from how you see it. Basically, brand image is what people think and say about your brand to themselves and to others.

This depends on various factors, but mostly on how your brand has interacted with them in the past, the shopping experience, the brand quality, and the values they share with your brand.

What Is Brand Identity?

Brand identity is the visual elements of the brand: colors, typography, style, and logo. It’s about the things that make your brand different from others and also the message you want to send through your products or services.

3. Create Brand Elements

Creating brand elements should come after defining your brand voice, image, and identity. Many companies make the mistake of making a logo first and then making a brand story around it. But a brand is more than just a logo and graphics – it’s about the way it makes people feel when owning a product from a brand. Create the brand story first; then take inspiration from it and the brand elements will come easily to you.

Aside from a strong brand logo, you’ll also need to create a tagline, choose fonts, define a color palette, language and wording, and create a website. Then you can design marketing and promo materials, think of brand messages, and make social media and content plans.

Make sure you don’t infringe on any copyrights with your business name, logo, and other brand elements as this can lead to long and costly lawsuits. To make sure everything is legal and ready to go, hire a trademark attorney to double-check and sort out these things for you.

4. Create a Brand Strategy

After you’ve defined all aspects and elements of creating a brand, it’s time to make a brand strategy to build brand awareness and create buzz. This includes defining your target market, the channels you use, messages you send, how people will find your brand, what your brand promise is, and what the main brand values are.

If you’re a new business owner, you should also focus on brand positioning, i.e. the way you want to present the brand to potential customers. Think about how you want them to see the brand, how they can benefit from it, and how to make it easy for them to choose it among your competitors.

5. Become Your Brand

If you’re a business owner, you represent your brand wherever you go. Each time you talk about your business, even in personal settings, other people form a picture for the brand. If you’re in the beginning stages of developing a brand, make sure to follow your own branding guidelines and brand voice.

“Becoming your brand” doesn’t mean you should always dress in your brand colors or wear branded t-shirts. It means you should represent your brand values in all areas of your life. If you go to networking events, show people why your brand vision matters and how you as a person want to succeed.

When posting things online, keep in mind your brand values and express them in a subtle, non-salesy way. This is how you create a strong brand identity, brand image, and brand recognition.

Follow These Brand Development Tips To Create a Memorable Brand That Customers Will Love

Whether you’re a new business owner or have been around for a while, brand development is essential in attracting a loyal customer base. With these tips, you can create a memorable brand that people will love to own, spend money on, and most importantly, talk about with others.

Want more branding and business tips? Explore the other articles we’ve written on these topics and come back often for more industry news, trends, and updates.

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