Setting the foundations: The key elements of building your brand

If you know anything about buildings (or over-used metaphors), you’ll know that if you want to create something strong, durable, and capable of lasting a lifetime, then you need to start with a solid foundation.

Building a brand, just like building a house, is something that should start with a great blueprint, plenty of creativity, and a lot of careful research. After all, there’s more to your brand than a fancy name and a colourful logo. Your brand is the culmination of every emotional experience a customer has with your company — from the expectations your business cards generate, to the voice you use to communicate online.

Your brand is the everyday interactions you have with your customers, and the careful choices you make about website colour and fonts. It’s the one thing that makes sure you stand out, regardless of how many other companies offer the same products and services that you can provide.

So, how do you begin to build an incredible brand?

The anatomy of a brand: Your key building blocks

There are countless elements that can go into building an incredible brand. Whether you’re simply refreshing an old look, or creating something from scratch, the first step in creating a strong, lasting brand, is defining your business. That means not only telling people what you do, but why you do it, how you do it, and more.

Branding is about finding your unique identity, and linking everything you do to your values, and beliefs. To help you get started, here are a few of the building blocks you’ll need to define, before you can start putting your brand together:

1. What’s your purpose?

I mentioned above that a brand is one of the best ways to differentiate yourself from your competitors. There are probably countless companies out there that offer the same products and services that you do. That means if you want to stand out, you need to tell your customers what makes you special, and why you’re doing what you’re doing.

Ask yourself why you started your company in the first place, and don’t stop brainstorming until you’ve come up with an answer that’s better than: “I wanted to be rich.”

2. How can you make a connection?

One of the main reasons why “I wanted to make money” isn’t a good enough “purpose” for your brand, is that today’s customers want to build relationships with their favourite companies. Look at some of the most popular brands in the world, and you’ll discover that people are willing to pay more, and show more loyalty to brands that they feel emotionally connected to.

Brand building relies on emotional connections, because human beings are naturally driven to create relationships and act according to emotions.

3. Are you consistent?

Consistency is a crucial factor in brand building. That means that you’re going to need to look closely at all the strategies you might use for brand awareness, and figure out how you’re going to align them towards one seamless message or idea.

Decide on what you want your brand personality to look like, and then implement those characteristics into everything you do — from your website, to your marketing materials, and even your social media posts.

4. Are you versatile?

Today’s brands need to be digital to survive. Unfortunately, the digital world is a complicated one, thanks to the fact that it’s constantly changing. Just because the brand you began building a few decades ago used to work for you back then, doesn’t mean that you’re going to get the same results with it now.

Rebranding or a brand refresh can help you to adapt to meet the new needs of your audience, but you need to think carefully about which solution is best for you.

5. Do you know your competitors?

Finally, it’s tough to build a brand that really stands out from the crowd if you don’t know what you’re competing against. A good competitive analysis can help you to pinpoint the areas where you can outshine other people in your industry, and show your unique value to your customers.

Remember, an understanding of your competitors should be combined with a great knowledge of your brand values, and your customers if you want to end up with a solid brand. Ultimately, brand building often comes down to some really informative research.

Defining your brand

Defining your brand is no easy feat. It means looking into what makes your company tick, and deciding which attributes you want your customers to recognise when they see your company. Though building a brand can include a lot of logistical tasks like designing a logo, or a website, it also means approaching your business from your customer’s perspective. After all, you need to create something that your audience can connect with on an emotional level.

Usually, your brand creation process will start with simple things, like a strong name, a great logo, and a well-performing website. As you begin to grow, and evolve as a company, you’ll be able to adapt to implement your brand into new things, like email marketing campaigns or social media marketing.

Remember, no matter what you do, your aim should be to appear as authentic, unique, and memorable as possible. Stay consistent, show value, and let your customers know what makes you special. All of those things will direct you towards a more powerful brand.

Need some help with your branding?

Building an effective brand is hard work.

Out of the countless companies that exist in the world today, there are only a handful that have accomplished their branding strategies so well that they’ve managed to become household names.

You’ll find that as your company grows, your brand will grow with it. Often, your customers will help to establish who you become, with their thoughts, opinions, and feedback. However, with the right branding strategy in place, you can help to direct the path that your brand takes over the years.

Ultimately, brand building is rarely a one-time exercise. You’ll need to define your brand, and figure out new ways of showcasing it to the world constantly if you want to stay ahead of the competition. The good news? There is help out there. If you need to learn more about building your brand, click on our “Brand Building 101” feature. Here you’ll learn how to define your brand, what you should look for (based on examples), and how you can empower your customers to fall in love with your company.

It’s time to solidify your foundations.