How do I create a brand for my business?

Before any work starts on branding (or in fact any marketing) you will need to ask yourself “who is this for?” Who is your target audience?

The temptation to create something that speaks to you will be strong, but stop yourself. First, pinpoint your ideal client and don’t try to be everything to everybody.

When you market to everyone, you’re marketing to no one. 

Contrary to what you might think, it’s much easier to build a business if you have a niche that either offers specific services or targets a certain industry (or both). Work to become renowned as the experts in your field. That will be pretty much impossible if you decide your field is everything.

The instant answer is businesses like yours. If you’re planning to set up as a painter and decorator, for example, then it would be other people who offer the same service or sell decorating products.

It’s not just established businesses that you should include in your research – competition could also come from a new business that is offering a similar service or product to you. 

You can start to find out where your competitors could be by:

• walking around the area in which your business operates
• looking through local directories
• reading industry magazines and press advertising 
• talking to customers
• attending exhibitions and trade fairs
• searching on the internet
• collecting flyers, brochures and marketing literature
• checking information on Companies House’s website.

When carrying out your analysis, it’s worth bearing mind that with increased internet use potential customers now have more choice in finding services and products and you could find yourself competing with businesses from further afield. 

Your company mission statement, or tagline, should convey clearly what you do best, and what to expect from you. Don’t make it cryptic, and avoid using generic words like ‘quality’ or ‘good value’ – anyone could say this about any service, but what makes you stand out?

Your brand voice conveys your business values and its personality, so the first step is to decide on these first and write them down. Then you can think about the sorts of things your brand would and wouldn’t say; what words it should use; and what sort of topics you should be talking about.

Produce a set of guidelines that has all the details about your brand in it so that it’s available for employees and suppliers to reference. Guidelines and consistency will future-proof your brand as it grows but your brand should also evolve with your business.