How to Get Your Startup Branding Right On A Tight Budget

What do Coca Cola, Ford Motors, Nike and Apple all have in common? Besides being multi-billion-dollar businesses, these companies all have strong branding that’s recognized throughout the world.

For tech startups, branding is just as important as it is for these global businesses because a great brand grabs the attention of potential customers, establishes your business’s identity, and builds customer affinity and loyalty.

To achieve these results, however, your brand needs to go beyond a “cool” logo, colors and fonts. To do it right, you need to develop a story that represents your business and its core values through design, content, personnel and more-and you can do that on a tight budget.

To develop your startup brand, keep these simple tips in mind.

Step 1: Develop a Strong Brand Value Proposition

Not to be confused with a motto or slogan, your value proposition is a statement that summarizes what your company does, why it’s unique, and why a customer should purchase your product or service.

Think of it as your “elevator pitch,” which communicates to customers what your company stands for.

A value proposition is important because it guides your entire brand strategy, from content creation to website design and everything in between.

Most importantly, it ensures that your messaging consistently represents your brand accurately across all marketing channels.

To develop this critical piece of your brand, ask yourself the following questions:

• Who is your target customer and what are their main pain point(s)?
• What is the benefit of using your product or service and how does it solve your customers’ problem?
• What makes you different from indirect and direct competitors?

For example, your answers might be:

• Our customers want a high-quality protein powder that’s available for a reasonable cost.
• Our product is organic and uses all-natural ingredients while costing $3 below the average cost for similar products.
• We’re different because we’re our target customers. We use our protein powder and we live and breathe fitness just like they do. We’re not just another manufacturer.

As such, your value proposition might be Affordable organic protein powder, created by athletes like you.

Step 2: Establish Your Voice

When your value proposition is set, you can develop a strong brand voice. Your brand voice specifies the way you communicate with your customers, including the words you use and the tone you take.

Read more here.

Originally published at https://get.tech on October 30, 2019.