Launching A Business Or A Brand?
So many things to think about, right? Aargh!
I’ve launched a few ventures in my time and have learned some hard lessons through each experience. But, the key takeaway I realised was that you should always put as much emphasis as possible on your marketing.
Now, obviously, you’ll need to make sure that your product/service is up to scratch and the best it can be - does it answer a need that exists in your chosen marketplace? How does yours differ from the others? And so on…
But, I’m going to assume that you’ve been working like a dog to get everything ready for the big day.
Now, here’s where it can go a little wonky, but bear with me…
You launch (or relaunch) your business, look proudly at all of your collateral (website, business cards, adverts, social posts, etc.) and you get a few enquiries and even a few sales! All’s good in the world!
And, then you get the dreaded lag - everything goes a little quiet and you start to worry so you double up on everything but everything is now a grind.
Doubts start to creep in as you lie in bed wondering what you can do to get back on track…
You mentally review your checklist and everything seems OK and then, as you sit at your desk/kitchen table/local coffee shop you notice your logo.
You start to look around and recognise other brand logos - Starbucks, Apple, Fedex, Nike - and you start to think.
“My logo’s good. My wife/friend/kid’s buddy did a great job whipping mine up in 27 minutes on their phone.”
The minutes whir away…
“But… is it great? Does it make an impression like these others do?”
A frown appears on your forehead and you start to look around more feverishly - everywhere you look you’re faced with logos and branding that really stands out.
“Fuuuuuuuuuuuccckkk!” you scream in your mind.
And, now, back to Marketing
And, this is where so many entrepreneurs trip up. They look at branding as an item that just needs to be crossed off early so that they can get on with ‘the important stuff’, but that’s the point! Your branding is part of the important stuff. It’s really important!
An article in Forbes states:
“There’s a huge amount of competition today, so businesses need to go the extra mile of ensuring they stand out in a crowd. To do this, you should invest in creating a strong brand that will get and keep people’s attention. With the right branding, you have the chance to get some control over how people perceive your business, so you don’t want to overlook this.”
The article goes on to list 5 key reasons why effective branding is important. These are:
More People Will Recognize Your Business
Branding Can Help Build Trust
You Can Improve Your Advertising
It’s Great for Your Employees
Branding Creates Loyal Customers
FEAR NOT!
While it’s ideal to have your logo, visual identity, and brand system ready pre-launch, it’s not uncommon for businesses in general, and startups in particular to refresh their branding
You can even use it as a method to reach out to customers old & new, to reinforce the benefits of your business offering, and to refresh your social channels.
You just have to take a breath, take some time to truly understand your business and what it stands for, and then find a good designer that works with your budget (don’t scrimp though 😜) to help you develop a visual identity with an effective logo as your starting point.
The button below will open a short Project Brief Questionnaire which you can use to organise your thoughts about your brand and your thoughts on the visual elements of your business
Don’t forget, you can build your brand slowly and in phases starting with a really good logo and then adding the other elements of a complete brand design system.
Take your time, enjoy the process, and enjoy the results!
