This concept of branding is quite popular as almost every business and individual wants to be a brand or build one. This is quite good, and, in fact, an interesting ambition. But sadly, many businesses and individuals may not know how to build a brand to the level they want.

When you hear brands like Coca-Cola, Apple, Microsoft, IBM, Facebook, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Dangote, just to name a few, there’s a tingle that goes on on your inside.

You immediately know what they do and hope to become like them, right? Well, your hopes and dreams are about to become real with these 8 simple steps—which are also practical.

Moreover, by the end of this article, you will have the keys to opening the door for your brand to flourish. You will also know how to build your brand from scratch. So, I hope you’re quite as excited as I am as we journey together, exploring the 8 steps that will help cause a remarkable shift in your business endeavour.

What is a Brand?

A brand refers to all the basic differences that can be used to identify a company. It is the image a business or company is perceived as having. The way your company comes across to customers is your brand.

Additionally, a brand is a culmination of a company’s visual effects, such as its logo, website design, colours, business cards, and more, as well as the tone of your voice, what your company is out to solve, and its core values. The list goes on and on.

I’d like us to just consider one of the leading brands in computers and technology, Apple. Have you asked the question, “Why is Apple a go-to brand?” Of course, they’re not the only company in the world that sells computers and technology.

The truth is that they’ve been able to build a solid brand over the years, and their company is built on simplicity, innovation and modernity. They are always thinking forward, and that’s one of the reasons they get their customers excited, always wanting more of their products.

Moreover, as a business owner, you want to have a strong and lasting effect on customers through your brand, which is why you cannot afford to just put up something that’s not excellent. You get what I mean? Exactly!

8 Steps to Building Your Unique Brand From Scratch

Now that we’re clear on what a brand is, the next thing you should consider is the “how” of branding.

These 8 steps will be simplified as much as possible so that you can know exactly how to begin the process of building your brand from scratch. Here’s a close look at the steps:

1. Identify your Audience

In building a brand, you first want to consider your audience. You must be able to answer the “who” and “what” questions. “Who was my business created for?” “What products or services do they need?” These are very important questions that you must answer.

In addition, you must be able to identify the people you intend to reach with your business and what products and services appeal to them the most.

You do not want to just come up with something that doesn’t send a message or have a long-lasting effect. So to identify who your audience is, you can do the following:

i. Create Buyer Personas:

One way for you to identify your audience is to create a profile of who your potential customer will look like, taking into consideration their age, gender, demographics, likes and dislikes, and also their behaviour towards online shopping.

ii. Consider Existing Customers:

Secondly, if you already have customers, consider their opinions. You should know what they think about your products and/or services, their age range, gender, where they come from, as this can inform you about your branding strategy and identity.

iii. Examine your Competition:

Lastly, you should look at where your competitors are and are not looking.

When you know the kind of audience your competition is targeting, it will help you in yours. You can also target other unreached audiences for which your products will be of help.

As you build your brand and interact with more customers, you will gain more insights about their preferences, which will help your brand.

2. Define your Brand’s Position

Once you’ve identified your target audience, the next thing to do is define where you fit in the marketplace. As simple as this sounds, it’s very important as you definitely do not want to be floating in the marketplace.

For you to do this, your company’s mission statement becomes relevant. As a matter of fact, you are not a jack of all trades. Your business is to solve a problem, and that is what you must clearly define.

A typical example of a clearly defined brand position is Nike’s mission statement, “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete.” This explains Nike’s brand position in the marketplace.

Hence, your business plan, mission and vision statements, and core values must seamlessly align to place you in the best position in the marketplace.

3. Choose a Business Name

Choosing your business name is one of the most important steps in building a brand. Your business name should, in one word or phrase, tell your customers what your business is all about.

Aside from the fact that your business name should tell what your business is all about, it should also be simple and memorable.

Coming up with a business name is quite easy. In Greek mythology, you could combine names and use inspirational figures like Nike’s winged goddess of victory.

It could also be descriptive, like Business Blommer, a business news article blog. Whatever business name you decide to use, it must reflect your purpose.

4. Create your Brand Story

Stories are a perfect tool for relating anything to anyone. The art of storytelling must be on full display when you are building your brand.

If you were to choose between two products, I guess you’d be more interested in the one with a good storyline. In building your brand’s story, one thing you want to take seriously into account is “why was your business established?” Your customers want to have something to relate to.

A good story comprises a perceived problem your customers are facing and the best solution—which is where your business comes in—they could have.

For instance, Business Blommer, a company that offers business information and consulting services, introduces its brand story with the perception that small and medium business owners may be having issues with access to business concepts and appropriate business consultation necessary for their businesses to thrive, which is now a challenge them.

Our solution is introducing them to our services, including publishing articles that give valuable information to small and medium business owners. In addition, we offer consulting services to businesses regarding structuring, funding, organization, and operation. This story makes customers relate to our brand, which causes them to patronize us.

5. Design your Brand’s Look

After successfully creating your brand’s story, you need to design how you want your brand’s visuals to look.

Your brand’s look is how your customers will easily identify your business in the marketplace. Your customers should be able to tell it’s you when they search for your products online.

When you design your brand’s look, consider the colours you want to use, the fonts, and the imagery that best informs your customers about your product.

In addition, the colours you choose should reflect the tone and voice of your brand. For instance, Business Blommer’s typical green and black colour reflects the concept of growth, where the black indicates planting your business on fertile soil, and the green indicates growth and flourishing.

Furthermore,  the font you use for your brand could be friendly, playful, bold, and authoritative, depending on your business. The bottom line is that the better your visuals are, the easier it is for your customers to recognize your brand.

6. Create a Logo

Along with your business name, your logo is the first thing your customers will see and, on most occasions, memorize. For instance, the logo for Apple, which is a bitten apple, is quite simple, memorable, and unique. 

For you to create a logo that’s excellent and easy to understand, you may employ the services of graphic designers to give you the best. Some of the different types of logos you can consider are:

I. Brand emblems: 

This logotype is created by placing an image in a circle or shield. An example of a brand with such a logo is Starbucks.

II. Mascots: 

This logo type contains a human character, which may be cartoonized, to help portray the brand’s purpose. A typical example is Wendy’s logo of a human face.

III. Wordmarks:

This logotype makes use of the business name, transforming it into a logo. Examples include Visa, Coca-Cola, Google, etc.

IV. Letter marks: 

In creating this type of logo, the business name is used as an acronym. This works for companies that have names that are more than two words. Examples include HBO, IBM, HP, etc.

V. Icon:

This logotype makes use of a simple picture to convey the brand’s identity. A typical example is the Nike’s swoosh logo.

VI. Combination marks: 

This logo is made by simply combining more than one logo together. This could be combining a wordmark with an icon or an emblem. A typical example is the Taco Bell logo.

The bottom line here is that whatever logo type you choose will reflect what your business is all about.

7. Write a Slogan

Having done the above six steps, the next thing to do is to write a slogan. Think of it as a mantra—that short phrase or statement that tells your customers what your business is out there to accomplish.

Nike’s slogan is “Just do it,” a well-meaning show-off of its motivational attitude. DStv’s slogan is “So much more,” which entails that they have so much more to offer than just giving you access to many TV channels.

Generally, a slogan is as important as every other component of your brand, so make it catchy and meaningful.

8. Establish your Brand Everywhere

Lastly, in building your brand, you need to integrate it into your business and then ensure that it can be seen by your customers, irrespective of where they are.

This means that you must think of marketing strategies for your brand. This could be done using different platforms, such as your online store, social media, and marketing campaigns.

Furthermore, your brand must resonate with everything your business does. What this means is that you need to build a style guide for your employees and contractors.

They should know how your brand should look and what it should sound like. While you do all these things, always remember to be consistent. This is because consistency is crucial to your brand’s sustainability and reliability.

Conclusion

A strong brand is a must-have for every business wanting to impact effectively. If you do not want your business to be forgotten easily, then you must put into practice these 8 simple steps for building a brand. 

Even as you practice them, do not be scared to make mistakes here and there. When you do, see it as part of the process and apply the changes that are needed. When you do, you’ll build the brand you’ve always wanted.