Creating a strong brand is the first step to the success of any new project. It’s the best way to build an emotional connection with customers, which translates into long-term loyalty.
Take a quick look at the products around you, from clothes to cars, and you'll see this. Most market-dominating companies have maintained their brand for decades despite changes in ownership and shareholders.
If you’re thinking about developing a brand from scratch and making it resonate with customers, it’s important to understand and accurately apply branding elements.
Steps to Building a Successful Brand from Scratch
I have prepared a guide to explain the essential steps to building a successful brand from scratch to help you master branding strategies and turn a brand idea into a profitable project.
1. Think Outside the Box and Long-Term
People are turned off by typical projects that flood the market. Therefore, you should seriously consider building a unique and exclusive brand idea.
This requires avoiding imitation or copying competitors, but it doesn't mean you can't learn from their experiences or draw inspiration from them.
Thinking outside the box will inevitably lead you to build a brand that resonates strongly and is flexible enough to adapt to market changes. These are crucial factors for overcoming marketing obstacles that usually cause the failure of most small business ideas.
Additionally, many beginners limit the brand's name and design to a narrow field, which doesn't help in expanding business areas in the future.
For example, it's a mistake to create a clothing brand with a logo that indicates clothing, as this will prevent you from expanding the product range to related areas like furniture and home accessories.
This is clearly seen in the experience of famous clothing brands like Zara and LC Waikiki, which successfully expanded their business from textiles to home accessories.
2. Accurately Identify Your Target Audience
An entrepreneurship expert knows well that they cannot build a brand that suits everyone but should target a specific group with common factors such as social status, income level, and lifestyle.
A successful brand has a unique and distinct identity from competitors, giving customers a sense of belonging to something bigger than just a service provider or a goods store.
The best example illustrating the importance of customer targeting is Rolex, which has focused on producing luxury watches since 1905.
Despite having the potential to expand its sales and profits by targeting the middle class, Rolex has kept its products exclusive to the wealthy.
A Rolex customer doesn't spend lavishly on a watch solely for its high quality but as a kind of social passport, granting better treatment, especially in business meetings and public events.
Additionally, some Rolex watch editions are limited and increase in value over time, making them sought-after investment assets among the wealthy worldwide.
3. Study the Market and Customer Behavior
The first obstacle you will face is coming up with a successful project idea and gaining customers quickly, which cannot be achieved without investing well in market research.
Before taking any investment step, carefully study the market by gathering accurate data about your target audience and assessing the strengths and weaknesses of competitors.
This data will help you understand the audience's interests and the type of marketing messages they respond to, giving you a priority in finding new solutions that the audience awaits. You can conduct market research practically through several steps, including:
- Browsing websites and social media pages that share your interests.
- Using search engines to identify top brands and investigate their marketing methods.
- Conducting surveys to determine the types of products the target audience desires.
- Hiring specialized research firms for large-scale projects.
If you plan a professional long-term brand project and have a substantial budget, I suggest using the trusted platform Toptal to connect with experts in market research and data analysis.
Toptal is one of the top freelance platforms globally, hosting elite freelancers, many of whom are graduates from prestigious universities and have professional experience in leading consulting firms worldwide. Its prices are high, often tens of thousands of dollars, so it’s not suitable for beginners, but it is ideal for business owners and medium-sized companies.
4. Build a Unique and Distinctive Visual Identity
A brand's identity is not just about the official logo or product quality; it's about effectively conveying the brand's story to the audience.
Creating a unique identity involves giving the brand a personal and distinctive touch that stands out from competitors, which strengthens the audience's connection to it.
A distinctive identity also enhances brand performance during crises, as a strong brand influences customer satisfaction in the medium and long term.
For example, achieving quick sales is good, but more important is converting current customers into future customers at a lower marketing cost. Only a good brand reputation can achieve this.
When customers believe that a brand is a reliable and safe choice, they are more willing to overlook some product flaws or pay higher prices for quality.
Apple, for instance, has a strong and unique brand identity that has successfully made it a preferred choice for customers, regardless of intense competition.
The company continues to raise iPhone prices despite minimal updates without facing sales declines or customer complaints.
Simply put, owning an iPhone makes you feel there’s no better alternative in the market, an image Apple has successfully ingrained over the years.
5. Connect with a Story
Promoting a brand in the form of a story is very important. It helps build trust and credibility with customers and strengthens the brand's identity, as stories spread more widely than product quality.
The story should be simple, spontaneous, and personal to the founder, answering the following questions:
- What inspired the creation of the brand?
- What motivates your development?
- How has the brand positively contributed to society?
- Are customers a priority in the company's plans?
Having an inspiring story helps the brand stand out and reduces advertising costs compared to competitors.
People sympathize more with companies that have a unique journey before achieving success.
Successful companies focus on sharing their stories in promotional videos and ad campaigns, highlighting the founder's journey or the success of the company's first branch.
6. Design a Professional Logo
A logo is the official face of the brand, appearing in all marketing campaigns and official materials. Thus, investing in a professionally designed logo is crucial.
First, focus on simplicity to ensure the brand is quickly recognized and easily remembered by customers. Leading companies in the market rely on simplicity and clarity in their designs.
Second, ensure color harmony aligns with the company's goals, target audience aspirations, and the psychological impact of each color. Research this thoroughly or hire a freelance designer for the task.
I personally use graphic designers from Fiverr Business, as the platform offers talented freelancers at lower rates compared to expensive web service firms.
Additionally, the first step in marketing a new brand idea is creating its own website. Create a website to ensure excellent communication with customers, suppliers, and investors alike.
7. Adopt a Simple and Attractive Slogan
Have you thought about your brand's mission and vision? Now it's time to translate that into a simple, attractive, and memorable slogan.
The slogan should align with the company's goals and audience preferences, avoiding any religious, racial, or political sensitivities to ensure legal registration without issues.
Remember, the ultimate goal is to achieve good sales and increase income to sustain the company's success.
Avoiding these sensitivities prevents the potential loss of customers.
For example, Nike's famous slogan "Just Do It" is clean and filled with motivational messages, making it perfect for sports enthusiasts.
Nike positions itself in the ready-to-wear market as a best friend and supporter of athletes worldwide, which has helped it top the list of best-selling clothing brands globally for many years.
8. Legally Register Intellectual Property Rights
While you may have great project ideas, failing to register them or establish legal entities to represent them makes them vulnerable to theft by competitors.
Before registration, choose a unique brand name and slogan, ensuring it's being used for the first time by consulting regulatory bodies.
Registering the brand with legal authorities helps protect intellectual property rights, preventing misuse or theft.
If you plan to use the brand for e-commerce or online services, it's best to establish and register an USA company online without needing to travel there.
This step is crucial for ensuring brand credibility, receiving online payments without limits, and easily opening an American bank account.
9. Invest in Marketing
Having an ambitious brand project must be paired with marketing investment to reach the largest number of customers quickly.
The first step is creating a dedicated online store for the brand and setting it up correctly before starting to attract visitors.
I recommend entrepreneurs to use Shopify, as it’s reliable and easy to manage, with no technical expertise required to set up the store.
Once the store is set up, move to the stage of increasing brand awareness and attractiveness.
Here are some effective ways to market and enhance your brand presence:
- Launch ad campaigns on social media.
- Reward loyal customers with exclusive incentives and discounts.
- Distribute free branded gifts like T-shirts, coffee mugs, and stickers.
- Partner with social media influencers.
- Support charitable projects and donate to community organizations.
Conclusion
Thinking about creating a brand is the first advice given to anyone considering starting a small business.
Building a distinctive visual identity adds a professional touch and strengthens trust bridges.
A successful brand is the secret behind customer loyalty and investor confidence, allowing you to outperform competitors at a lower cost.
Also, remember you are not the only player in the market, so customers may leave your products as soon as they find better quality at a lower price.
This challenge must be understood to ensure the sustainability of sales rates.
Remember, the only lifeline during crises is customer trust, so it's essential to build a trustworthy and reputable brand.
