4 things you need to know before you can define your brand

Deciding what kind of emotion you want to evoke among your users or customers can be a difficult task. Defining things like your core values and your unique voice usually seems too wide and abstract to lead to specific ideas and visual elements. If you’re stuck in a rut, start small. Here are some specific things you need to pinpoint that should help you tell your organisation’s story in a way that resonates with your audience and stays true to the message you want to convey.
1. Who you are
This sounds easy, but your story is more than just the basics of what you do and how you do it. When coming up with the answer for this one, make sure you also address the crucial point of why you do what you do. What was the motivation for starting the business, and what makes it thrive. Your company’s voice will only sound as authentic as you make it.
Try thinking of your brand personality as a point on a scale between two polar opposites. Are you more authoritative or laid back, are you more niche or do you have mass appeal. Answers to these questions could help you get a better feel of what kind of vibe your customers will respond to the best.
2. Who you want to be
Take a long hard look at the crystal ball and write down where you see the company in 5, 10 and 15 years. Specify steps you plan to make in order to get there. What are your milestones? What are your challenges? What are the markets you want to break into? Now think of how you want your audience to respond to that.
Does a steady and predictable path of gradual success make more sense to you, because you need to project an image of stability and reliability, or are you the underdog that will burst on to the scene and take the market by storm.
3. What sets you apart
There’s a pizza place on every corner of every moderately urban area in the world. Yet, most of them persist, because of one reason. Joe’s pizzeria has the cheesiest calzone, but Gino’s pizza joint has that really cool super secret marinara recipe. The point is, if you don’t have a really clear idea of what specific value your clients get from your business and your business only, you risk getting drowned out by a sea of competitors, which also makes for a bland and average public image.
4. Who your customers are
Lastly, you need to put some effort into what is essentially the cornerstone of any marketing plan — your customer persona. Not having a clear concept of the audience you are targeting leads to wasted advertising budgets, so when in doubt, think of specifics. Creating elaborate profiles of all your potential customers takes the focus off of how you perceive your brand and gives you some insight on how your brand will be received.
If you’re still having doubts, take a shot at our brand sprint or check out our website for some inspiration.
