About UpBrand
UpBrand helps businesses improve their brand and marketing through workshops, audits, and focused consultations, going the extra mile by offering free month-long unlimited consultations with every collaboration to help you prevent costly mistakes and have a better shot at success.
Got a branding or marketing question?
How to Build a Brand: A Quick Guide for Small Businesses
Many business owners have a company but not a cohesive brand. Understanding how to build a brand is crucial for standing out and connecting with your audience. If you’re here, you’re already taking the first step towards establishing a strong brand identity, putting you ahead of many competitors.
Before diving into how to build a brand, let’s determine if you already have one.
Ask Yourself These Questions:
- Do you have a key narrative you’re telling through your business?
- If you answered yes to the first question, do your customers know this narrative?
- Did you carefully write a brand strategy before diving into logo creation?
- If your business were a person, can you describe them in detail—how they look, sound, and interact?
- Do your customers feel the way you want them to when they interact with your business?
If you answered yes to all these questions, congratulations! You have a brand. Your next step in understanding how to build a brand is to audit it to check its solidity and relevance.
If you answered no, it means you only have an icon (not even a logo) and a business name, not a brand. Don’t blame your designer; this isn’t their fault. Designers excel at visual communication, but not all can strategize. Creating a brand strategy is a different skill set. Don’t beat yourself up for not hiring a brand strategist earlier; strategy can be expensive. But you found us, and our mission is to bring you usually expensive strategies without the hefty price tag.
Steps to Building Your Brand
Step 1: Have Your Business Plan on Hand
Ensure your business plan includes mission, vision, values, customers, and competitor research. Never start branding without this foundational document, as it helps prevent creating a disconnected brand.
From your business plan, you should be able to identify your Brand Pillars. Answer these questions:
• Who are you?
• Who are you here for?
• Where are you headed?
• Why should people care about your business?
• What principles guide your decisions in tough situations?
• What is unique about your business?
Step 2: Let’s Personify Your Brand
Review your values, mission, vision, services, customers, and USP. Imagine a brand with these exact pillars—how would they interact, look, make you feel, serve you, sound, and what stories would they tell? Be specific and write everything down.
Now take note of your description. Anything that describes an aesthetic will be your guide for your visual identity, anything that describes how they speak, how they sound, what words and expressions they use, and what stories they enjoy telling is your brand voice, and anything that describes interactions and emotions will guide you in creating your brand experience.
Step 3: Communicate Your Brand Elements Through Visual Identity
With your detailed description, you can now discuss with your designer how to visually communicate your brand through your logo, colors, fonts, and other visual elements.
We always recommend working with professionals, especially when figuring out how to build a brand that resonates with your audience. However, if your budget only allows for a do-it-yourself approach, ensure that you can capture and communicate your brand identity effectively. Stay tuned for a separate post where we'll delve into the psychology of design and share additional tips and tricks.
Step 4: Build and Plan the other aspects of your brand
While your designer focuses on crafting your fresh visual identity, take the opportunity to refine your brand voice to complement it. While there are no strict rules, consider the following guide to help you shape your brand's voice:
Language Formality
Determine the level of formality that best aligns with your brand persona—whether it's formal, professional, or casual.
Readability Scale
Consider the readability level of your communication. Are you aiming for simplicity that a third-grader can understand, or do you prefer a more sophisticated tone tailored to working professionals? Always keep your target audience in mind.
Communication Style and Personality
Define the communication style and personality that reflect your brand identity. Do you want to convey warmth and nurturing like a caring mother, or do you aim for humor and wit like a funny dad? Ensure that your chosen style resonates with your audience while staying true to your brand pillars.
Bonus Tip: For additional guidance, consider incorporating keywords, dos and don'ts, and other guidelines for consistency if you have multiple individuals writing content for your brand.
Step 5: Reflect on Your Brand Experience
Brand experience is the sum of all interactions and touchpoints a customer has with your brand. It encompasses every aspect of your business, from the initial discovery phase to post-purchase support. Here's how you can craft a memorable brand experience:
Consistency
Ensure consistency across all touchpoints, including your website, social media, packaging, customer service, and physical locations if applicable. Consistent branding builds trust and reinforces your brand's identity in the minds of your customers.
Personalization
Tailor the brand experience to each customer whenever possible. Personalized communication, recommendations, and offers make customers feel valued and understood, fostering loyalty and advocacy.
Seamless Journey
Map out the customer journey and identify potential pain points or friction areas. Streamline processes and eliminate barriers to create a seamless and enjoyable experience from start to finish.
Exceptional Customer Service
Invest in exceptional customer service to address inquiries, resolve issues promptly, and exceed expectations. A positive customer service experience can turn a dissatisfied customer into a loyal advocate for your brand.
Emotional Connection
Aim to evoke emotions that resonate with your brand values and messaging. Whether it's excitement, nostalgia, or trust, creating an emotional connection with your audience strengthens brand loyalty and encourages repeat business.
Feedback Loop
Establish a feedback loop to gather insights from customers about their experiences. Use this feedback to continuously improve and refine your brand experience, ensuring it remains relevant and impactful.
While branding is a broad topic, this guide on how to build a brand will set you on the right path, putting you ahead of businesses without a clear brand.
For even greater advantage, contact us at UpBrand to help you solidify your brand and create an integrated branding and marketing strategy to accelerate your business towards its next goal.
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Enough about us
How can we help you thrive?
We make typically expensive branding and marketing strategies accessible to smaller marketing teams.
*We believe in the positive impact of business, but we don't work for shoutouts. Exchange deals are exclusive for nonprofits and social enterprises.
- hello@upbrandmarketing.net
- 7 Masbate St., West Ave., Quezon City
- +63 917 1670807
© 2024 UpBrand. All Rights Reserved