Startups are different from traditional businesses in that they are still evolving. They are exploring business models, markets and target audience, maybe even product functionality. All with limited financial and human resources.
So quite often, startup branding gets relegated to ‘later’. However in today’s highly competitive environment, where startups crop up every day, startups have to invest in branding early in their life cycle, in order to stand out.
Importance of brand strategy for startups
Yes, designing a brand strategy takes time and effort, but a well-defined brand strategy acts as a guide for your organisation, a basis for differentiation and future growth. Branding helps create a strong foundation for presenting your ‘big idea’ or offering, and communicating its value to the marketplace. So it pays to invest in brand strategy at the embryonic stage of your enterprise and pave the way to early success.
Branding contributes to your startup business in many ways:
1.It gives you a unique ‘identity’
A brand gives you a distinct image, voice and personality, helping you differentiate yourself from other startups in the marketplace.
- It makes you memorable
Sure, you have your USP but branding gives you visibility and the consistency you need to build familiarity and recall with your audience. It gives you credibility and longevity, helps you stay in the market for a long time.
3.It offers a roadmap
Branding provides direction for the future. It defines your brand, provides clarity so you’ll know which marketing platforms to use, how to present your brand to the world, and launch any new products in the future. Branding tells you what to do and equally, what not to do!
4.It provides focus
Brand strategy helps all stakeholders see you in the right light. It brings customers, employees, investors on the same page, sending out the message that this is a solid, dependable enterprise. From marketing to recruitment to event planning, branding helps you understand your brand on a deeper level and sets you up for scalable success.
Basics of Startup Branding
Startup branding isn’t as complex or expensive as many believe. Partnering with a startup branding agency can help. Here are 5 steps to successful startup branding:
Figure out what makes you special
- define your value proposition
- determine your competitive advantage
Do your research
- analyse the market
- define your target audience
- determine your competitors
- create customer personas
Define your brand personality
- give your brand human attributes
- who is your brand as a person
- how do you want to be perceived
- how do you want to make your customer feel
Develop your identity
- logo
- colours
- motto/slogan
- typography
- design system
- corporate identity programme
Build online presence
- create a user-friendly brand website
- build compelling social media presence
- define a content marketing plan
Conclusion
It’s crucial to have a startup branding strategy in place to provide clarity, consistency and creativity while guiding you to success. It will help you stay on track, never straying from your values, tone of voice, identity and whatever makes your brand unique.
Many startups understand the need for branding strategy but feel they don’t have the time for brainstorming, nor the skills required for its creative implementation. That’s where a specialist partner comes in.
Interics Designs is a reputed brand consultancy and inter-disciplinary design agency offering years of brand building expertise and creative design in a cost-effective model for startup branding.
Interics IN-BRANDS helps startups and SMEs translate their business objectives into a brand strategy, which is distinctive, compelling, relevant and measurable.
Interics’ Frugal BrandingTM is a special package for startups and SMEs that optimizes cost-effectiveness, deliverables, and timelines to get you started. It’s tailored for tight budgets and gives new companies a chance to work with experienced branding strategists and designers who understand the challenges new businesses face.
The foundation lies in good Research and Analysis. Frugal Branding TM covers all the elements that startups need in their launch or developmental stage: brand naming, corporate identity, brand applications, and basic guidelines to maintain consistency and relevance across touch points – today and into the future.
As your Brand Architect and Strategy Consultant, Interics Designs follows a scientific and proven process that helps us create sustainable brands, with identity design, go to market strategy, product launch and brand launch services. As a full-service Brand Communication Agency in India, Interics is a strategy consultancy, graphic design house and communication agency that helps you translate your business objectives into a classic brand strategy which is distinctive, compelling, relevant and measurable.