Branding Considerations For Your New Business

Starting a new business venture isn’t easy due to the sheer scale of the task. There is a lot you have to consider if you want to be successful, and you have to cover every base. Take branding as an example. As well as hiring employees and structuring business processes, you have to spread the word. If you don’t, no one will know you exist and the immediate future won’t look too pretty. A successful company is one that understands branding and how to use it to take advantage of the industry. Although it is a complex area, it is possible for new business owners like you to take it by the horns and seize the moment. All you have to do is implement a variety of branding techniques. Now, where are you going to find them?

Online Presence

Grey areas exist everywhere in business because what works for one firm doesn’t work for another. The internet isn’t a grey area, however. As far as you’re concerned, your online presence is one of the keys to your success with hundreds of millions of people using the web. To start, make sure you lock in a domain name for your business. Your domain name is like a zip code – it tells people where you are and how to get to your destination. Plus, it is a good way to maximize SEO (search engine optimization). But, by far the most important feature is credibility. Customers can spot sites with free web hosts from a mile away because of the domain name, and it affects their opinion. A domain which reflects the most professional sites will give off the impression that you, too, are professional.

Social Media

Social media is also an area that you can’t afford to underestimate. When it comes to marketing, there are lots of variables that aren’t in your favor. For example, small businesses don’t have the money to market their brand effectively, but thanks to social media, you don’t need a lot of money. As you well know, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and the rest are all free as you just have to sign up to use your profile. So, with the help of these platforms, you can start spreading the word to your target audience. All you need is a selection of followers that have an interest in your products or services. The better news is that you can affect how people view the business. By talking to them directly, businesses can forge a relationship with customers based on trust and loyalty. As soon as you have their loyalty, customers don’t tend to give it to anyone else. Read “Marketing Strategies to Boost Your Digital Marketing Campaign” for a great overview on digital marketing including using social media. A fantastic website for social media help is socialmediaexaminer.com

Visual Branding

Before you read any more, just know that visual branding is a fancy term for branding with images. Even though it seems a little pretentious, it is a crucial part of marketing in 2017. Images are quick, sharp, and carry a message. Customers just have to look at certain images to understand exactly what you are trying to convey. Plus, they are far more attractive and lure people in a lot easier than reams of text. So, what’s the delay? Why aren’t small businesses using visuals to their advantage? The answer is that visual branding is tricky. There is so much to consider before you go live that most businesses just avoid it altogether. To avoid it, you should make sure you understand the audience, offer value such as new information, and add personality.

Consumer Psychology

In simple terms, branding is all about psychology. The more you can tap into the heads of the consumer, the more chance you have of making a conversion. Take a look at pricing strategies for a better understanding. It’s a fact that prices affect the way customers view a bargain. A product at $5, for example, doesn’t look as good as one at $4.99. The reason – $4.99 looks cheaper, even though the difference is a single penny. Colors are also an excellent way to use psychology to your advantage as certain colors link to certain feelings. Red is a passionate and important color, whereas orange is playful and cheap. It is also worth noting that different cultures view colors differently. In the West, red is a danger sign, whereas in the East it is a sign of prosperity. A business must use the colors that fit their audience the best.

The Extras

For some reason, there are techniques that small businesses assume they can’t use. It is like only the biggest businesses have the right to use them because of their size. A logo is the best example, but logos aren’t just for firms like Microsoft. Please read this next line carefully because it will make a big difference – ANYONE can use a logo! It doesn’t matter if you’re a small business that has only broken into the industry or you work from home because there is no legal requirement. As long as it doesn’t reflect another company’s logo, you are free to put yours on your letterheads, outside your premises, and on your website. And you should because customers look on logos favorably, too. As it goes, customers think that only the big businesses have a logo, so they link the two. A small business with a logo will automatically seem like more significant business just because of a simple trademark. Want to hear the good news? They are pretty cheap to create, so there’s no excuse.

The Legalities

Most of above don’t require any legal action on your part. But, some methods do, and it’s important you know what they are before you use them. Patents, trademarks, and copyrights are the three main ones. If you want to patent anything, you should keep it private until you know the patent is yours as a rival could steal your idea. Also, make sure every individual understands who gets what from the patent by drawing up a contract. With a trademark, the most important thing is to do a clearance search to ensure no one else uses the logo, brand name or image. Finally, anything you wish to copyright you should do so with the copyright office. But, you should also do it unofficially by adding ‘copyright’ to any of your material.