Six easy steps to branding: www.deekpay.com

Think about a category and then think about one of the brands. What makes you think of that brand? Is it because of its eye-catching logo, or its catchy slogan? Or the consistently high quality of its products? Branding covers different aspects of what your business stands for and promises to deliver. A strong brand identity can help you outperform your competitors by connecting deeply with your audience and creating points of memory.

What is branding?

What people think of your business is your brand. The branding process is the process of creating a unique image for your business. It begins with a strategy that defines your brand's relationship with your customers and how it will evolve over time. A branding strategy will help you maintain consistency of communication and experience across different environments and assets such as print and packaging, customer service or social media.

Six Steps to Successful Branding

There are multiple ways to build a strong brand. Here are six steps to help you start your journey to successful branding:

Step 1: Identify the target audience

The first thing you need to know when developing a branding strategy is your target audience. You can define your audience based on age, location, interests, etc. This will help you define what, where and how to communicate so that the audience can deeply relate to your brand. Based on your target audience and their needs and wants, you can create a brand image that resonates with them. Over time, your brand needs to evolve with your target audience to stay relevant.

Tip: Start with smaller, specific audience segments. As brand awareness and loyalty grows, you can expand your audience base to encompass more diverse groups.

Step 2: Define the brand mission

Your mission and vision statements describe why your brand exists and what it is passionate about. The brand mission is what you promise to do and how you will add value to your audience. It also determines how you daily execute your brand strategy. This will guide your brand building process across channels and help you realise your brand vision - what you want to be for your audience.

Step 3: Research competitors

Every brand has its unique selling point (USP). Analyse your competitors to understand what they are successful at, where they fall short and where your brand can do better than them. The branding process should focus on that differentiating factor. This will help you define what will make your business stand out and utilise it in your branding and marketing. Competitive analysis is an ongoing process that helps you:

Define and optimise your USP

Improve your products and services

Encouraging research and development (R&D)

Measure your brand and pricing strategy

Identify business opportunities and threats

Step 4: Create a strong value proposition

You've researched the market, your competitors and your audience. Use this knowledge to clearly define what your brand offers and why your audience should only choose you - what makes your brand unique and valuable. Include this value proposition in your marketing communications across all channels to create a successful brand. For example, PayU's scalable and robust platform makes it one of the best payment solution providers in India.

Step 5: Setting brand identity and guidelines

Branding is about making your business recognisable and memorable. This is achieved by acting on the human senses, especially sight and sound. Think of the Coca-Cola logo or the Nokia melody. Creating such unique and memorable logos will create a special place for your brand in the minds of your audience. Once you've done that, document how your brand will be presented across channels. These guidelines will ensure consistency and quality.

Step 6: Promote your brand

The final step is to introduce your brand to the world! Develop a clear marketing strategy that makes noise and captures your audience's attention on the channels they frequent. With your brand guidelines and marketing strategy, you can communicate with your audience in a relevant and engaging way.

Apply your brand in every communication, from packaging to stationery, from websites to marketing collateral. Identify new channels such as email, web and affiliate marketing to promote your brand.

concluding remarks

Branding is an ongoing process; you need to review it from time to time to ensure that your brand remains consistent. The process requires expertise and it is best to seek professional help to make the most of your efforts. You can learn more about the importance of branding guidelines in our blog.

Branding Process Frequently Asked Questions

What is branding?

Branding is the use of different strategies and plans to create awareness and promote a business. In other words, it is building and presenting a brand identity through different activities such as social media, websites and events. Branding is crucial for a company because it represents how it is perceived and thought of. It is your logo, tagline, adverts, everything!

Related articles on branding:

Social Media Marketing Tips

Content Marketing Tips

Quora Marketing Strategy

Video Marketing Tips

Why is branding important?

Branding is crucial to building recognition and trust. This can help you gain more customers and their loyalty over time.

How do you plan the branding process?

You can start with the six simple steps above to build a successful brand.

What is a brand roadmap?

A brand roadmap includes concepts and strategies that can be followed when building a brand. It includes goals, objectives and how to achieve them within set deadlines.

How do you build a strong brand?

There are a number of methods and strategies we can use to build a strong brand. Firstly, a brand audit is required. This involves a thorough competitive analysis of your company and identifying the USPs of your brand. ensure that you remain original and authentic in your communication. Re-analyse your strategy regularly to maintain your brand identity.

How does advertising play a role in branding?

The aim of branding is to create recognition and attract more customers. Advertising plays an important role here. It helps businesses remind consumers of their existence. Advertising helps build brand salience. It reminds people of the products or services offered by the business by looking at the brand logo or advertising campaign.

What is brand reputation?

As the terminology suggests, brand reputation is how people perceive your brand. Do they see your brand as fun and quirky, or as an authority in your industry? A good brand reputation means that consumers trust you and like your products.