In today’s increasingly competitive marketplace, having an effective brand strategy is fundamental in establishing your business and its’ edge over your rivals.

But what exactly does the term “brand” mean? In a nutshell, your brand is you and embodies your promise to your customer. It tells them what they can expect from your products and services and conveys how you want to be perceived.

Put simply, having a brand is like having a personality for your business. Your brand will form an integral part of your marketing strategy and encapsulate you or your businesses unique identity. It will convey quality, type, and kind of goods or services provided, and will become what your target customer base thinks about when they hear your name, read your Facebook posts, or see your logo.

A brand can consist of many elements, ranging from your business name, to your logo and tagline, and even the colours you use within your advertising materials.

So why do you need a brand?

Many small business owners perceive the creation of a brand identity as a costly exercise best reserved for larger, global companies. In fact, the opposite is true. Effective branding can not only lead to increased sales, but establish your business as an authority within the marketplace, regardless of your current size or reach.

In a sense, your brand functions as the face of your business and can be extremely important in creating awareness of your products or services and establishing trust and loyalty amongst your customer base. A brand can also add value to your products and credibility to your services.

Your brand should set you apart from your competitors and create a “voice” that reflects your company ethos and mission statement. Think of your brand as your reputation – an invaluable asset that works on your behalf to attract and retain a loyal, repeat customer base.

What makes a “good” brand?

Using a brand simply to describe your goods and services is not the most effective approach. A good brand is distinctive and makes your goods or services stand out from the crowd.

When developing your brand, you need to ensure that your ideas are as clear and concise as they can be. If your branding is weak or your message is muddled, the end result will do little to boost your business and lead to confusion amongst your customers.

Having a strong, uniform brand will ensure that your business will be instantly identifiable, whether it is through your company’s website, external advertising or social media. A good brand will be memorable and capable of conveying your unique selling points to your target customer base.

Avoid falling into the trap of creating a generic, lack-lustre persona for your business by injecting as much personality as you can into your brand. Be willing to try something different and break away from the traditional branding norms in your sector. People appreciate the real thing and customers can be intuitive about a disingenuous or poorly executed brand that they perceive to be “boring” or sub-standard.

How to get started

Creating a strong brand takes time and effort, but as we’ve discussed, it is essential in setting your business apart from competitors and signifying the quality and value of your products or services. If you’re unsure how a brand can work for you, or you’d like some help in getting started on creating and protecting your brand, then we can be of assistance!

Brand protection is what we do best at Ethikate. We will work closely with you to develop your brand and create a tailored protection strategy that not only addresses your business needs and future plans, but is also cost-effective.

Following our initial consultation with you, we will not only continue to work with you to ensure your brand grows with your business, but also ensure that you have an effective brand protection strategy in place to safeguard your assets. Find out more here.

Check out Part 2 of our blog series on Brand Protection here.