4 Branding Opportunities for Start up business

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What is Branding?

Branding definition: According to the American Marketing Association “A brand is a name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers”.

This means a product can be anything from a mobile phone, pizza, hotel stay, flight, language course, clothing, food, toothbrush, etc.

We will use the example of water to illustrate the definition of a product and its role in the branding definition: water is a free resource that every human being needs to live and survive. Yet the day humans and businesses started marketing it, for example by selling mineral water in a glass and plastic bottles, it became a product.

But water is always the same thing, isn't it? It's transparent and liquid. So how can different companies sell the same product but still persuade people to buy their bottled water from the competition instead of the one?

The answer is: by creating a brand.

Let's illustrate this example of water. The product sold is water, but companies have developed various water brands such as Pure Life, Aquafina, Kinley or Bisleri to persuade people to buy particular water. And each of these brands gives the product water a different meaning:

• Nestle Pure Life – “Pure Life begins now”
• Pepsico Aquafina - “pure water, perfect taste”
• Coca Cola Kinley - “Boond Boond mein Sachchai” (The drop in the droplet)
• Parle Bisleri - “Har Maa Janti Hai, Har Paaani ki Bottle Bisleri Nahi” (Every mother knows that every bottle of water is not Bisleri)

Bisleri, Since its inception, it has been India's undisputed Duke of mineral water brands; such is its popularity that the brand has become synonymous with India's mineral water industry. Founded by Italian businessman Signore Felice Bisleri, India FMCG giant Parle purchased the company in 1969. Used throughout India as a generic name for mineral water, Bisleri commands market a share of over 70 per cent and has the market reach across all possible stretches of India.

How can it be done?

We won't explain these in detail here as we focus on key elements that are missing from a start-up during its branding process. Companies tend to create and shape a brand using different tools. Branding, for example, can be achieved by:

• advertising and communications
• product and packaging design
• in-store experience
• pricing
• sponsoring and partnerships
• the visual identity of the brand (logo, website and colours, are just some examples).

Branding your start up ideas can be a challenging navigation process. You have come so far on the basis of a vision and a unique idea, and now you have to package it in a way that is market-friendly. Most entrepreneurs are not marketing experts in their businesses, and important brand opportunities can be easily overlooked.

There are obvious brand elements such as your corporate name and logo, of course, but there are several crucial pieces of your brand that help amplify your message and drive demand when they are joined together. These elements can represent value left on the table if neglected and result in your brand becoming another story of the dead end. However, these opportunities are properly implemented and can take your business from start-ups building a business to stand-out.

Here are four key brand building process opportunities that should be carefully addressed by every entrepreneur -

Catchy & Descriptive Tagline:
For the founders alone, company names are most often composed and meaningful. It takes time to associate a brand name with the products, services and culture you're looking for. Too many companies incorporate creativity into esotericism by adding a philosophical or poetic tagline that adds to the confusion and creates a mash-up of unmoored nonsense for target audiences. You end up wasting valuable time explaining who you are and what you stand for when your name and tagline might have given you a basic start. You need a descriptive tagline for a company just starting a business. You need a tagline that accompanies the name of the company and is clear about what you have to offer and for whom you have to offer it. You can evolve your tagline as your company grows and gains brand awareness. Company names should change as rarely as possible (usually after M&A or some PR scandal), but taglines can move and shift as the strategic direction gains momentum, and you should use that to start telling your story.

The story of L'Oreal tagline

Then:
Because I’m worth it

Now:
Because you’re worth it

Observation:
This was a good move. There was nothing wrong with the old business tagline; it was catchy. The models who appeared in the L’oreal commercials made the slogan catchy, always ending with a smile and a chuckle complementing, “Because I’m worth it.”
Replacing the “I’m” with “you’re” places the spotlight on YOU. Yes, YOU, the consumer. In this way, L'Oreal also wants you to identify with the brand. When you come up with a business slogan, see how you can place your customer in the spotlight.

What do YOU think? Should L'Oreal have stuck with “I’m”? Or is “you’re” a good move?

The evolved slogan now serves their company's audience's message effectively. An effective tagline claims to be descriptive but not over-complicated in the memory of a consumer. You're starting right now from the start; you want people to get it.

Custom Phone Number

You've put a lot of effort into the details. You choose your company name, logo, URL, so why settle for the telecom provider's random phone number? A phone number is a versatile tool for business and an important part of your toolkit for marketing. It's both a branding and a call-to-action element in one. It can be used to improve marketing efforts, generate revenue, and grow brand loyalty over the long term. Whether you're looking for a toll-free or local number, there's a number that fits your brand. Your story is really important to tell, and at the end of the day, connecting person-to-person is more efficient than trying to drive all enquiries through a website that cannot easily adapt to individual needs. A memorable phone number increases the generation of the lead and leads to more voice connections, allowing you to start building those important relationships sooner.

Storytelling Responsive Website

A well-rounded story can be completed with a quality website when it comes to telling your story. Many businessmen make the mistake of throwing up what is essentially an online business card. Your website doesn't have to be the best-looking or the most advanced website, but it needs to take the time to share your story with your audiences in a way that makes sense. To have something, don't just throw something up there: make it a storytelling platform. Chances are, something they've seen has driven a consumer to your website and they're looking to find out more about the brand. Not only from your point of view, this person is searching for your history, but for a compelling reason for them to do business with you from their perspective. Think of the information they need to make a decision and count every sentence. Also, they always have the right contact information–not everyone wants to fill out a web form or send an email, sometimes they have a simple question and they just want to pick up the phone.

Public Relations

A goal for startups is to raise brand awareness and attract audiences. Until brand trust and a positive public image are established, this can not be achieved. A big challenge with this element is that business owners will hope their brand will be flocked with the free, organic press. They can take on a mentality "if we build it, they'll come" and focus on the big wins alone. You have to face the fact that your business will not be announced by the Wall Street Journal on day one. You need to build a PR presence with a sum attitude greater than its parts. The good press doesn't just get your name out there, it makes you curious about your business, It also provides essential back-linking to improve the S.E.O ranking. Tools to examine include press releases, podcasts, and any chance to get referrals to your website. While the main topics may be general topics such as building a business as opposed to the exact industry you serve, you're going to get your brand name out there and establish yourself as an expert.

Taking a start-up business from introductory to the top-of-mind brand is not easy, but knowing what elements to focus on helping to create a path. Taking advantage of these opportunities to build brands can put your business on the map and maximize the potential for growth.

Bigassert helps startups in their brand building process online, explore more at - Assert Box