End Goal: Establish your companies overall brand #
Again, there are a few steps within this step.
- Differentiate yourself from your competitors
- Clearly state your companies mission and values
- Develop a clear and consistent brand identity
- Create a memorable logo
- Name your company
There are no clear steps on this one. You need to do all five, but you may already have a name or logo idea or you may be starting from scratch. We are going to talk about each of these steps, but feel free to mix up the order for what works best for you.
Before you get started on each of these items we have a few tips.
- Don’t get bogged down on any one aspect of your brand. You can always change things as you go along or even rebrand yourself entirely in the future. Too often, people will become so obsessed with coming up with the perfect name they will never make it very far in their planning.
- Creativity is key here and some of you may struggle, that is okay. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to represent you and what you are trying to do.
- Think about brands that you like and why you like them. What emotions do they bring up for you?
- Think about brands you hate and why you hate them. What emotions do they bring up for you?
- What values are important to you? Trust, integrity, efficiency, reliability, etc.
- What do you want your brand to say to people? Is your company comforting and welcoming, does it seek to intimidate people or invite them in.
Differentiate yourself from your competitors: #
What do you like and dislike about your competitors and how can you be different? Your brand needs to stand out, particularly in a saturated market. Make sure your brand is clearly different from your competitors. Different name, logo, color scheme, etc. You do not want confusion. Do not rip off a brand, that is not a recipe for long term success.
Clearly state your companies mission and values: #
Mission Statement, it will clearly define your company and what they want to accomplish. Do not be generic here. Really think about what you want your company to represent, what you want to accomplish, and most importantly how you want to connect with your key users Customers, Suppliers, Lenders, and Employees.
Develop a clear and consistent Brand identity: #
Make sure that everything you do is consistent with your mission statement, your logo, color scheme, name. Everything should match. Clear, Concise, and Consistent. You do not want any confusion on anything.
Create a memorable logo: #
This is one of the more difficult parts of brand development. Everyone knows the nike swoosh, apple logo, you don’t even need the name and you can tell the company. Simple and to the point. Do not be afraid to spend a little money here if needed. Fiverr is inexpensive and can help, even just with ideas. Professional logo designers if you have the money. Friends and Family, someone is an artist. Our suggestion is to keep it simple. Less is more.
Name your company: #
This one is the most difficult for some companies, particularly when trying to match a domain name. Turtlesmith went through so many names before landing on this. Websites were too expensive or already a business. S&H Business Services was available and simple, but the domain is long and sometimes people comment on the three sss in a row. You may struggle here, but you can always come back to it in the future. Again, no problem spending a couple bucks here as well. There are businesses that their sole purpose is to name companies and make sure they get a solid domain.
Additional tips if you are struggling: #
- Pick some key words – If someone says sky what words pop into your head. Blue, clouds, rain, birds, space. Think about this in terms of a business. What words pop into your head when someone says Coca Cola. Red, delicious, sweet, bubbly, sugary. What do you want people to say when they think about your brand. Pick some keywords or buzzwords that you believe are important to your brand and work from there.
- Pick a color – Colors can say a lot about your company. Red, bold and passionate. Blue, calm and soothing. Green, invoke thoughts of wilderness or stability. Think about some colors you like and what emotions they may convey in the context of your business. Do not go overboard. Pick one, two at most to use for your brand. Simple is best.
- Naming – Your name does not have to be perfect. Some of the biggest companies have weird names. Google, Uber, etc. just think of something easy that may fit well. Bob’s plumbing service is a fine name as well. It doesn’t have to be ridiculous to be a good fit.
- Mission Statement – It does not have to be complex. “Our mission is to provide high quality service at a fair price”, is a fine mission. You don’t have to change the world.
