As the founder of a startup, brand building will help you stand out in competitive marketplaces and connect you with your target audience. While so many entrepreneurs focus on product development and funding early in the process, investing in branding is huge for payoffs when your company begins to grow. In this article, we explore the type of branding strategies available to startups and look at how to choose the right approach for your business.
Why Branding Matters to Startups
Before diving into detailed strategies, a look at why branding should be a priority for new companies includes the following aspects:
- Differentiation: Strong branding differentiates from competitors and allows communication of one’s value proposition.
- Trust and credibility: Consistent professional branding signals that you are a legitimate business, even if you are just starting.
- Customer loyalty: The emotional connections forged in branding result in repeat business and word-of-mouth referrals.
- Attracting Talent and Investors: Your brand story could be a big differentiator in attracting the best talent and gaining funding.
Since resources are scant for any startup, judicious use of branding-related activities is required. Following are some of the most viable strategies that are being used by various startups with promising results:
1. Corporate Branding
Corporate branding focuses on creating a strong identity for your overall company, not just the plethora of products and services that it offers. It is a perfect approach for any startup looking to position itself as a thought leader or even an industry disruptor.
Core elements of corporate branding:
- Mission and values
- Visual identity logotype, color palette, typography
- Brand voice and messaging
- Company culture
Example: Tesla has built a powerful corporate brand centered on innovation, sustainability, and leading technology. This is a wide Identity that spans all their offerings and products.
2. Product Branding
Product branding involves creating distinctive identities for various products that come under your company’s purview. With this strategy, startups with different products or those targeting different segments can benefit.
Benefits of Product Branding:
- Takes you closer to target marketing for a better class of customer orientation
- Allows trying different brand personalities to see which works best for the product.
- Safeguards the company’s brand reputation in general when one product performs poorer.
Example: Procter & Gamble is simply brilliant when it comes to branding products. They have already given somewhat separate identities to products such as Tide, Pampers, and Gillette.
3. Personal Branding
In startups that are closely aligned with their founders, personal branding can be very powerful. This approach utilizes the founder’s experience, personality, and story to establish credibility and rapport with customers.
Elements of personal branding include:
- Thought leadership content (articles, speaking engagements)
- Social media presence
- Personal website or blog
- Media appearances
Example: Elon Musk’s brand is inextricably linked with his companies, including Tesla and SpaceX; his provocative statements and outsized persona keep his endeavors in the headlines.
4. Ingredient Branding
Ingredient branding involves highlighting a key component or technology within your product to differentiate it from competitors. This strategy can be particularly effective for startups with innovative features or partnerships with established brands.
Benefits of ingredient branding:
- Emphasizes unique selling points
- Leverages the credibility of partner brands
- Creates opportunities for co-marketing
Example: Intel was able to position its processors as the essential ingredient in good computers through its “Intel Inside” campaign.
5. Cause Branding
Cause branding is one of the ways by which an alignment with a social or environmental cause helps in reaching and staying in touch with socially conscious consumers. The best outcomes are achieved when the cause is truly integrated within the business model and corporate culture.
Key factors when it involves cause branding:
- The selection of the cause should be related to one’s product or service
- Be authentic and transparent concerning your effort
- Measure and communicate your impact
Example: TOMS Shoes based their entire company around their “One for One” model where for every shoe sold, a pair of shoes was donated.
6. Geographical Branding
Using the location or origin of your startup as a strength and major focus can be another successful way to brand your business. This works especially well if you are located in a place that is associated with particular qualities or skill sets. This may help you capture local pride and convey authenticity.
Options for geographical branding:
- Name your company or a tagline with the location
- Highlight local products or manufacturing
- Share regional cultural identity through your branding
Example: Brooklyn Brewery has used its NYC borough home as a significant differentiator in a very crowded craft beer market.
7. Co-Branding
This can be done in collaboration with other companies to create a joint product or marketing effort. This works best when two brands complement each other and seek to attract a similar target market.
Benefits of Co-branding:
- The reach of potential customers spreads
- Shared costs for marketing
- Credibility based on the association of the brands
Example: When Spotify partnered with Uber, it allowed users to create personalized playlists to hear whenever they hopped into an Uber, benefiting both brands.
8. Minimalist Branding
In a moment when the world is too saturated with information, some startups work miracles with a sans-treatment approach to branding. “Bare bones” minimalism catches on in an era when billions of people suffer from information overexertion.
Ingredients of Minimalist Branding:
- Simple and clean logo design
- Reduced color palette
- Straightforward messaging
- Focus on the essential features of your product
Example: Everlane is one of those few companies that managed to create a popular brand in the fashion industry by building its core values on transparency and minimalism.
How to Choose the Right Branding Strategy for Your Startup
With all of those various directions you could take your branding, how would you know what was best for your startup? Here’s a clue:
- Target market: Which will your ideal customer base like the best?
- Industry standards: Are there operational standards concerning branding in your industry?
- Company values: Which course of action best reflects your mission and culture?
- Resources: How much money can you invest in branding?
- Long-term goals: How is your strategy likely to scale with your company?
To help illustrate the various strategies behind branding, along with their core characteristics, please see the table below.
Executing your branding strategy
Once you have chosen a branding strategy it is time to execute. Here are key steps to effectively execute your branding strategy:
- Create a brand style guide: Record your visual identity, voice and messaging recommendations to ensure all touchpoints remain consistent.
- Create branded assets like logos, website elements, social media templates, and other visual materials that best fit the selected strategy.
- Training your team to know what messages they should be giving out there and also be in a position to share your brand values.
- Branding consistency across channels: A brand is applied in similar ways to its website, social media, packaging, and customer communications.
- Monitor and adjust: Regularly look at the effectiveness of the branding efforts one is carrying out and be ready to make adjustments based on customer feedback and changes in the market.
Conclusion
Choosing an appropriate branding strategy forms one of the most important decisions for any startup aiming to make its mark in the industry. Keeping in mind the particular characteristics of your company, the target audience and long-term objectives will eventually help you formulate a branding approach that will separate your venture from the competition at large and click with the customers.
Remember, branding is not something you do once; it’s continuous. As your startup begins to grow and evolve, be prepared to reassess your branding strategy and refine it to continue serving your business objectives. A strong, well-executed brand will better position your startup to attract customers, secure funding, and ensure long-term success in the marketplace.
FAQS
Q: What is the most important factor when choosing a branding strategy for my startup?
A: The most important factor when choosing a branding strategy for your startup is your target market. Understanding your ideal customer base and what will resonate with them helps you develop the perfect brand identity to get by.
Q: How can I build a strong brand with limited resources?
A: A minimalist branding approach would be the easiest way to build a strong brand for a constrained resource. It focuses on the simplicity of designing a logo, a limited color palette, and a limited message in order to create an identifiable brand identity with low marketing budgets.
Q: Should a new startup focus on corporate branding or product branding?
A: A decision between corporate or product branding depends on your startup’s goals and offering. Corporate branding is good for positioning your company as an industry leader, while product branding is generally better suited for startups with diverse product lines or those targeting different market segments.