How can Entrepreneurs use Branding to take off their brand?

“To open a shop is easy – to keep it open is an art.” ~Chinese Proverb

Before I start let me tell you that I am one of the struggling Entrepreneurs who has failed massively. Out of 5 ventures, 4 of my initial ventures failed. And by fail, I mean I was on the verge of throwing myself off the building. But then one fine morning I got this idea for my 5th venture. I changed my branding approach and lucky I survived this venture. The only thing you need to start and sustain a business is persistence. When things are not going your way, that is the moment take some time off and empty your mind with some fresh ideas. And this is what I did. Let me share with you some tips that helped me build my brand from zero to million dollar brand with around 2,000+ customers.

1. Look for inspiration

As Austin Kleon puts it "Everything is a remix." Before you start the branding, you need to look for ideas that are already working. No need to experiment new things right from the start. To start off your brand look for people and brands who are successful in your niche. Adopt their habits. How they did it and what they stopped doing? If they are using some specific font on their website, why is it so? If their latest campaign is successful, what are the elements that clicked? The thing is, you might want to try new things, well that is okay. But even if you do try things, make sure you add your flavor along with the inspiration that you took from others.

2. Ask Questions

I took this habit from Richard Branson. In his book ‘Screw, it lets do it’ Branson mentions about doing this first thing in the morning. ‘For 45 minutes I meditate, I ask questions about why I am doing what I am doing.’ To make sure you are on the right track you need to adopt this strategy. With every brand strategy you build, you need to be very clear about what is the purpose of the strategy? How can it help your brand achieve some specific goal?

This simple process will help you gain some real insights about your brand and synchronize you with your brand's goals and targets.

3. Focus on the details

You might realize this later but I am warning you beforehand. No matter what you do, make sure you focus on ‘why of your business?’ Why exist in the first place? Brand your venture in a way that it creates a clear personality of your brand. From using fonts, to the content you are putting up. You are creating a brand personality that is the basis of your business. My friend Josh Davidson, Branex created his brand from scratch. In the year 2010 his brand Branex was about to go bankrupt but then something happened. While he was away on the vacation he came across this Ant who was carrying food for his family (probably). While Ant was busy making his way for the food, they meet another ant, they stroke their antennae on them to know about their identity and get information about food availability. On the next round, Ant didn’t follow that route. That is attention to details. Looking ahead of what is a time waster and how that time can be saved.

4. Print design is still alive

We live in a world where diversity is our greatest strength. We can try different thing and reach out as many people as we can. In doing so, you need to use every medium you can. Print design is still alive. You need to get some good content writer, best SEO and design the message you want for your audience. Every web design is the representation of your brand. The colors, the font, and the design itself. Make sure you stay consistent with the elements of your design and let the users recognize you with your brand design.

5. Maximize social media

Social media is one of the key successors when it comes to building a brand. Facebook alone recently surpassed 500 million members. Advanced targeting lets you narrow down your brand message and helps you to focus on things that matter most to your brand. Even social media channels have their own personalities. For instance, LinkedIn tends to imply professionalism, while Twitter is typically considered more fun and quirky.

The key to building a successful brand identity lies in developing a strong game plan as early as possible. By forming goals right from the start, you’ll be positioned right in the eyes of the potential customers. And if you play your cards right, that identity will be one that can grow and evolve with your company.