Although Quilt, a networking app, was only introduced in 2017, it has grown to be one of the most popular tools today among women.
The app is focused on supporting women to connect with each other on an authentic level. They encourage meet-ups and having conversations in cafes, restaurants, and even homes to discuss how they can help each other achieve their personal and professional goals.
The app’s popularity and success can be credited to the company’s branding strategy. They are focused on sharing positive, supportive, and soothing messages that also touches on self-care and engaging in genuine conversations. They have been consistent in doing this from the beginning.
If you have recently launched a new business, take a leaf out of Quilt’s book and work on your branding to establish a foothold in the market.
When you are successful with branding, you can build trust among your potential customers. You can also boost brand awareness and establish a good reputation in your market.
Establishing Your Brand From Scratch
Creating a branding strategy for your new business can be quite a challenge, particularly if you have no experience in this area.
Modelling your branding strategy from companies that excel in this can help you with this. Additionally, avoiding some rookie mistakes will set you on the right path as well.
A leading provider of branding consultancy services share below the common mistakes you have to avoid when building a new brand:
1. Having a poor brand name
If you haven’t chosen a name for your company yet, take the time to think of a good one first.
Many new businesses make the mistake of selecting a company name haphazardly. Some go with an unfamiliar or bizarre name to try to stand out from the competition. Although this can sometimes be helpful, if it is too hard to pronounce or long to remember, you will end up alienating a lot of customers.
Picking a name that is easy to say and flows naturally is a good start. Additionally, make sure it won’t require people to reach for a dictionary or look up its meaning online.
Keep in mind that your brand name is your introduction to the public. If you want people to recognize your business and draw them in, go through the correct process of naming your company.
2. Failing to define your branding elements
Once you come up with a brand name, you can’t relax just yet. To get the most from this marketing strategy, you need to work on your other branding elements, which include your logo, slogan or tagline, official colors and typography, and voice or tone.
When you fail to define and establish these elements properly beforehand, you will have difficulties with consistency – an essential factor that can make or break your branding campaign.
With properly defined branding, people will easily recognize your brand regardless of what format or platform it appears in offline or online. And this will go a long way in helping your business break into and stand out in the market.
3. Being too customer-centric
Although there is nothing wrong with considering your target market in your branding strategy, you have to avoid making the mistake of focusing on them too much.
This is mainly because many potential customers are not sure of what they want, particularly when it comes to new and innovative brands and products on the market. As a result, companies that are too customer-centric often take longer in achieving their branding goals.
To have a good branding strategy, focus on your competitors and the market first. Once you have incorporated them, define your target audience.
When you have a clear understanding of how your competitors succeed and why consumers are drawn to them, you will have a branding strategy that will work fully to your advantage.
4. Copying market leaders
As mentioned earlier, modelling your branding strategy on your most successful competitors is a good start. However, you have to be mindful of copying them too closely.
One of the best branding practices that you should always follow is to research and analyze your competitors instead of copying all their actions immediately. Look for techniques that work for them and find ways to customize them for your brand.
Keep in mind that as a new brand, one of your main goals should be to stand out from the competition. If you mimic their every move, you will fail in achieving this.
5. Failing to incorporate branding into your marketing strategy
Ignoring or neglecting to highlight or even include your brand identity in your marketing materials and campaigns is one of the biggest mistakes that can cause you a lot in the long run.
Consistency is something that all customers expect from all brands, especially new ones. If your logo has lighter tones on your printed marketing materials such as pamphlets, flyers, posters, and banners while the one on your website is darker, you will end up confusing plenty of people.
Additionally, you have to be consistent with the tone you use in your promotional materials. If you indicate in your branding guidelines that you want to come off as a friendly company, you have to avoid or minimize using professional-sounding words in your blog posts and other copy.
When you are successful in making your branding and marketing campaign work together, you will have a brand that catches the attention of people and something they will remember for a long time.
6. Assuming your new brand will take off quickly
Lastly, no matter how much work and money you put into your branding campaign, don’t expect it to take off immediately. If you become impatient, you may end up making plenty of bad decisions, such as spending heavily on advertising.
As long as you work on your branding and marketing strategy and tweak them when necessary, you can establish your brand successfully. Moreover, you can rely on these two as you continue building your business.
It can be easy to make these mistakes when you build your brand from scratch. If you want to avoid doing them and consequences that can cause your business to lose money and your chance at recognition, consider getting help from branding experts from the start.
With their assistance, you can have a brand that stands out from the competition and be as popular as the established ones.
