How do you develop your brand? Firstly one of the most important things you need to establish is your brand identity.
You need to understand who you are, what you stand for, why you are in business and establish your goals and focus. Combine these to develop your brand and that becomes who you are and what you are about.
So how do you develop your brand?
A brand isn't just a logo, it is a reflection of your whole business. You need to understand that how you think and feel about a brand is the brand. Head out and look at products around you. What you'll notice is not particularly the colour or style of their logo but you identify with a feeling. For example, the cold bottle of coca cola has you imagining a cool quench thirsting drink... You don't spend time looking at the outline of the lettering or brand colours. Their instant recognition triggers your desires.
So, in your development, start at the very beginning and decide what it is you are actually going to brand. A product, service or person?
Do your research. Who are your competitors, how have they branded themselves. Look at their colours, styles and promises.
Undertake a SWOT analysis to give an insight into your strengths and weaknesses, the opportunities open to you and threats that might be faced. What can you do to portray your unique points?
Define who your audience will be, don't just define as "women" be specific - young women, professional women, mothers ... How do they think and feel? What is the message you want them to receive when they see your brand.
Determine what colours you need to use in your branding. Blue portrays tranquility, dependability and authority (dark blue), red invokes passion and attention but be wary as this is not always in a positive light, yellow is motion and optimism, black portrays a classic and bold feel. Understand the emotions you wish to trigger within your target audience.
Design your logo and develop your tagline and brand promise. What is your objective and your benefit. Encapsuate your business in that first impression.
Follow through on your branding with quality items including good quality business cards, clearly branded letterhead and professional sign writing on premises and cars. Get your brand seen everywhere you can. Put your cards out at every opportunity, clearly identify your brand on all correspondence, especially your email signature and newsletter sign off and all marketing material. Clearly brand your social media pages and use them to your advantage.
In summary, building a strong brand identity is about knowing who you are, where you fit in, how you differentiate yourself from competitors and how easily your audience can identify with your product or service when they come across your branding. Remember your customers will be loyal to you so long as you are loyal to them and deliver what you promise.
