Branding 101
Decisions, decisions. There are always a lot of choices to make when you’re about to start a business. However, before you dive deep into finalizing your whole business plan, you will first need to come up with a coherent brand.
A brand, by textbook definition, is a type of marketing practice wherein a company creates a design, name, or logo in order to distinguish themselves from competitors.
Why Good Branding Is Important?
Good branding is important because:
- It improves recognition for your products and/or services, as it molds the way people will perceive your business.
- It increases business value, as it continually establishes your company’s place in the industry.
- It generates new customers, as it gives consumers a positive and dependable impression.
- It boosts employee pride and satisfaction, as it offers them high regard among the public.
- It builds trust, as it portrays reliability and professionalism.
- It supports advertising, as it reflects the strategies used with the image of the company.
To keep it simple, proper branding helps your business run more successfully now and into the future. There are various ways in which you can come up with a good brand. The two most common strategies are by creating either a business brand or a personal brand.
What’s the Difference Between Business and Personal Brand?
We can tell you were itching to ask that question, which is why we’ve put together a concise comparison between the two:
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A Business Brand
It is something that is built around a certain identity which you have created for your business. This means that you will have to come up with a name for your business, separate from your personal name.
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A Personal Brand
Simply put, your brand will follow after your personal name.
Both choices are advantageous in different situations, yet they still have their own set of pros and cons. Those, along with tips on how to create either your brand of choice, will be discussed below. Keep reading to find out more!
Why Should You Choose to Make a Personal Brand?
The pros:
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They can allow flexibility.
Since the brand name takes after your own, there are almost little to no constraints when it comes to the products or services you want to offer to the public.
Simply put, you will have the power to change your offerings into something entirely different from what you have started with without having to replace the name of your business. Convenient, right?
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They can match you perfectly.
When we say you, we mean you. Personal brands are best intended for one-man teams like freelancers, programmers, artists, coaches, professional speakers, etc. You get the picture.
Launching a personal brand will give your business a boost and continually attract new clients.
The cons:
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They can’t explain what your company does exactly.
A personal brand, since it follows after your own name, won’t automatically detail what industry you’re in. Thankfully, you can counter this dilemma by coming up with a strong tagline.
The more you use the said tagline along with your personal brand, the easier it will be for people to associate your brand with what you do.
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They can’t be sold too easily.
Nobody thinks about selling their business right when they’re just thinking of putting it up, but it helps to explore possible scenarios.
If, in the far future, there is a possibility that you would put your business in the market, it would be difficult to convince buyers to make a purchase because it is under your name.
7 Tips for Making a Personal Brand
If you’re deciding on creating a personal brand, Proweaver PH has come up with a list of suggestions to help you begin.
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Start your virtual platform.
You will need a website under your name to launch your business as it will be acting as the voice of your brand (the same thing goes with your social media accounts).
Now, for this to have its full appeal, you will need to utilize a custom web design as your base of operations. It will give your brand a more authentic feel that clients won’t find anywhere else.
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Determine your strengths and uniqueness.
What is the best thing that you can offer? What is the one thing that you always accomplish? If you’re having trouble determining this on your own, you can always ask your friends or colleagues for assistance.
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Create your own space.
Once you’ve identified what you excel at, continue to hone them. Keep learning everything that you can within that area until you become a specialist in your field.
There are many resources within your disposal. You can either read online articles, go to training workshops, take classes, etc. There is no limit to learning.
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Distribute your knowledge.
After becoming an expert in your field, what you want to do is teach about it. Share your knowledge by helping other people through means of videos, social media posts, blog posts, etc.
The point of all this is to prove that you know what you’re doing and, at the same time, you get the exposure that you need!
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Find your very own style.
You don’t have to follow what everyone else is into just to get with the crowd. It’s okay to be different and be just as you are. In fact, this may even work to your advantage as the crowd will notice your uniqueness.
Don’t be afraid to set a new path. Soon, you will have others following in your footsteps.
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Identify your values.
If you haven’t determined your personal and professional goals yet, now would be a good time to do so.
By having a clear outline of both your short-term and long-term goals in those respects, you will have an easier time aligning your projects and staying on the path to success.
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Craft your brand persona.
Think about why people would be attracted to your brand—specifically, to a brand of you. Identify your emotional appeal. Think about what highlights your personality and your specialties.
This should help you establish a strong personal brand.
In summary, creating a personal brand is not exactly a walk in the park. It requires a lot of effort and hard work, but in the end, you will realize that it is all worth it.
Still, if you’re not convinced of utilizing a personal brand, maybe you should consider putting up a business brand instead.
Why should you choose to make a business brand?
The pros:
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They can encourage you to think through your business plans more carefully.
When coming up with a name for your business, you will need to consider your business goals, the products, and services that you offer, as well as what you want your company to be known for.
This process may seem tedious at first, but it will actually help you keep your business more consistent and dependable.
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They can speak about the expertise of your business from the get-go.
Unlike a personal brand, business brands give you the full liberty to select the name of your business. Be creative and use as few words as you can, then combine it with a sharp tagline.
With this strategy in play, you will be able to easily build your client’s excitement.
The cons:
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They can’t be established easily.
Right from the start, you’re made to put together a brand name when you’re not entirely sure about what your business has to offer or who your target market is. It can be risky, but it’s not impossible to manage either.
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They can’t be flexible to change.
Unfortunately, if your interests change and they aren’t entirely relevant with your current company, you won’t be able to mold your business with it.
Rather than that, you should opt for building a second business instead. Another option you can try is by coming up with a generalized business name wherein all your future products and services can fall into.
7 Tips for Making a Business Brand
If you’re thinking about putting together a business brand, here’s how you can make it work.
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Define your brand.
Check on what products and services your business currently has to offer. Then, identify a space in the market where it belongs. Don’t be afraid to do research.
Keep in mind that your brand should be able to not just differentiate you from the rest of your competitors—it should also promote you and your business to your customer base.
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Build your brand as another entity.
You can determine its intended purpose, values, and mission. Doing this will help you guide your brand to act consistently and intuitively, no matter what the situation may be.
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Consider your business driving force.
Which brands does your business aspire to be like? What is your brand’s goal? Being aware of these things will help you utilize emotive brand positioning accurately.
On top of that, it will also affect the way your brand interacts with clients.
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Aim your sights on building long-term goals with consumers.
Never make promises you can’t keep. This will only negatively impact what trust you have already made with your clients.
Instead, you should be honest with what you can offer and how you will deliver it. This will keep your consumers loyal to your brand in the long run.
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Keep your brand unique.
It’s fairly tempting to follow what successful brands in your industry have attempted in the past, but don’t resort to it.
What you want is for your brand to establish its own defined identity and not be considered as a cheap knockoff. Strive to be independent.
Your authenticity will draw in more clients. Don’t be afraid to be bold and daring. Stand for what you believe in and others will surely follow.
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Keep your brand in mind when interacting with clients.
Giving discounts may be a surefire way to draw in a crowd, but that’s not your only option. You can also give promotions for your brand and it will build hype just as well.
Stay consistent but don’t overuse the same strategy repeatedly.
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Present your brand with a bit of intrigue.
Don’t just serve what you have to offer just by simply slapping on your company logo. Old tricks won’t work as branding has now become more fluid and engaging.
Instead, what you should do is give consumers the experience to discover your brand themselves.
This way, they will revel in being able to tell other people what they have learned. Custom web design can make that possible. Ask us about it!
Conclusion
We’ve laid out the facts and strategies. In the end, it will be up to you to decide which is a better fit for your business. What’s important is that you keep your brand authentic and consistent.
Whatever your choice may be in the end, one thing remains the same. You will need a custom web design to get your business going.
If you ever find yourself in need of assistance in that area, you can count on experts to deliver it. They’ll even give you 2 FREE mock-up website design layouts. How about it? Reach out to them by sending a message..