The startup industry is a highly competitive arena. Many of these companies are newly rising and obviously need to become successful. After all, not every startup ends up with a fruitful path. As such, startup needs to do their very best when building a company. And one essential element when building a startup is branding.
A company’s branding identity is its personality. Everything must revolve around your brand – from company policies, marketing campaigns to very particular documents. However, establishing a brand is not as hard as it looks. There are just specific steps you need to ensure to develop a good brand identity.
Likewise, this article will give you the best startup branding tips for 2022.
What is Branding?
Understand what branding is essential before starting your company brand.
Basically, branding is a method of proving an organization’s unique selling point that will distinguish its products and services from competitors. Similarly, it should be noteworthy that consumers will immediately think of your product whenever they see your brand.
The main point of creating branding is to attract and retain customers and stakeholders by delivering a product embodied by your brand. Your brand is what represents your company,
Why is Branding Important for Startups?
To any company, branding help build the first bridge to your target audience. Likewise, branding should differentiate a startup from other existing companies. It needs to impress your target audience as soon as it sees you.
And with that, you will get the below-mentioned benefits of startup branding:
1. Branding sets the first impression to customers
A good startup branding will bring your company into the spotlight. People will recognize your existence if your brand shows how much you can help them. And this is not just limited to customers.
With the proper branding, many stakeholders and investors will come your way. And before you know it, your branding has led you to success. So make sure to stand out in the crowd and be unique with your branding.
2. Branding provides a distinct identity
It could be hard to distinguish your startup from your competitor as a startup, especially in a big industry. However, you need to set yourself apart to get people to buy your products.
You can do this through unique branding for startups. With a unique brand name and points, you can carve your own niche and gain a loyal clientele. Remember to always add a human touch to your branding and be user-friendly.
3. Branding gives your company direction
Branding is not only exclusively for the company’s reputation. A strong brand also impacts the company culture and its direction. When developing a new strategy and policies, you always need to keep your branding in mind. Likewise, startup branding can function as a guideline to your company and what it wants to achieve.
Furthermore, branding is also embodied in your employee and culture. It will affect the company’s working conditions, career opportunities, and culture. This will be projected to their productivity and output.
4. Branding helps you focus
As mentioned earlier, a solid startup branding functions as a guideline to a company. As such, it reflects what you want your company to project and what you want to deliver to your customers.
Good branding will help your company to keep focus. It creates clarity and allows your employees to stay focused when connecting with customers.
5. Branding defines what your target audience wants
Your target audience is determined based on your product when establishing a startup. You predetermine which type of consumer will avail of your services and start your sales and marketing campaign from there.
Still, branding can improve your campaigns by learning what they want. At the start, your brand will give out promises to your consumers of how your product can help them. And with this positive perception, customers will feel more comfortable sharing what they expect more from you.
10 Easy Tips for Your Startup Branding
With the benefits mentioned above of startup branding, you are probably curious how you can start your branding. It might sound intimidating, but it can be easy if you follow a guideline.
Nevertheless, here are our ten easy startup branding tips for new entrepreneurs.
1. Discuss your company story
Startup branding doesn’t usually start with a product. You need to first tell people how it leads you to create this product. And a great way to tell the story of how and why you started this product. Tell your customers what has transpired, what motivated you, and what led you in building your company.
Try to extract parts of your personal life and journey to create a narrative. Providing a company story will help you connect with your audience and show that your company is human.
2. Set your brand tone
One of the most critical foundations of startup branding is tone. The concept defines what approach your brand and campaigns will have. It will decide how you will communicate with your audience, what word you will use, what emotion, and what personality you want to project.
When picking a brand tone, ask yourself the following questions:
- What are your company values?
- What drove you to build your company?
- How do you want to be perceived by your customers?
- Who are you planning to cater to?
By answering these questions, you will determine consistency in communication. Are a fun and funky workplace? Or do you only work with big corporations?
See what kind of relationship you want to build with your consumer and start building your brand tone from there.
3. Decide on a company name
The best startup branding comes from a good company name. Your company name is a big part of your branding. It differentiates your business from the market and conveys your mission, goal, values, and ethics. It’s the forefront of your industry, and people will remember your product and services through the name
As such, your company name needs to be unique and easy to remember. Don’t pick one that is difficult to spell, even when it sounds clever. Remember to make one that can easily resonate with people’s minds.
4. Write your mission, vision, and values
A startup branding is not complete without its core values, mission, and mission. It’s the brain of your branding, and everything will run based on these elements. In addition, it defines the purpose of the company and what they stand for.
As such, one startup branding tip when developing your mission vision statement is by considering the company’s internal culture. You need to gather your top leaders to share ideas and what they want the company to be in the next 10 years.
5. Find your colors
When you are finally done with the concepts, you need to begin with the startup branding design. Like any other element, a color palette is vital in branding.
Colour is crucial in every design need, such as website, logo, or even simple presentations. Similarly, color helps draw your audience into remembering your company and products.
Thus, before choosing your company color, always remember the following key points:
- Ensure that the color complements each other
- Validate what the color represents and see if it relates to your brand
- Make sure that it reflects your industry
- Discover what the color reflects the viewer
The last thing you want is for your company to present a feeling and tone that you don’t want to embody.
6. Design your logo
A logo is what customers first see when interacting with the business. It makes the first impression about your company and is the foundation of your brand identity. Your logo represents your product, people, and face.
Likewise, one important startup branding tip is for your company to create a unique logo. As a startup, you need to make a good impression. As such, make sure that your logo can grab people’s attention.
When creating your startup logo, make sure to:
- Convey your brand identity and tone
- Tell your company story
- Easy to remember and relatable
- Attractive and eye-catching
With that in mind, creating a logo for your startup branding will be easy.
7. Choose your typography
Typography is used in any part of startup branding strategy – from your logo brand voice to your website. As such, picking typography is essential to ensure the harmony and consistency of your design.
If you do not know which typeface to use, here are some questions that can guide you:
- What one are you trying to convey? Professional, casual, feminine, or playful?
- Does it match your color scheme?
- Is it readable?
It is a promising idea to experiment on a few fonts before choosing a definite one. Find the suitable font that will bring your startup branding to life.
8. Discover your customer persona
Although this step is not necessarily needed when creating your startup branding, this could help you maintain your customers. It is ideal for you to add to your branding what your customers want and how your product is better than your competitors.
Highlight how your startup relates to your buyer’s persona and focus on that niche in your campaigns.
9. Activate your culture
Now that you have the essential elements in place, it is time for your startup to start your brand and culture. Try to create a startup branding style guide that can help your employees and pioneers to stay with your branding. This will be your bible in everything you do – whether it’s a policy or a new marketing strategy.
10. Be consistent
When you launch your new startup branding, it doesn’t stop there. Your company needs to be consistent with your brand. To embody that startup branding, they need to apply your brand style in every design, event, or presentation.
And when you see the need to evolve, go through it while maintaining your previous brand style.
Ready to Begin Your Startup Branding?
Setting up your startup branding can be daunting if you don’t know what you are doing. But with these 10 Easy Steps, we are sure that you can do it in no time. And if you need help, consult a professional! Flexilabs offers digital marketing services to startup companies in Australia. Contact us now!