As exciting as it may sound to have a company of your own and be able to make decisions without somebody else’s approval comes along with its set of challenges. As an entrepreneur, you lookout for ways to establish your name as a successful business owner and to do so you must keep in mind that your company can only grow if people first know who you are as a startup and also remember it.
But how will your potential customers remember you?
The answer lies in building your brand. Just like when people all over the world are aware of who Steve Jobs was are also as equally aware of what the iPhone is.
As I write this, its funny to see that Microsoft Word identifies the iPhone and corrects me when I happen to write it as ‘Iphone’. This, my friend, is the power of brands.
So, what is it that you should do as a startup to increase the chances of your brand to stand out and up your game in creating a significant impact?
Read through these quick and simple tips that would help you grow your business successfully.
Is your startup’s brand identity different from others?
Smart startup owners make sure to start with a name that's unique, easy to remember and has a story to tell. Brands have preferences, tastes, and personas similar to those of humans, this is the reason why we tend to like some brands more than others. We relate our personalities with some of the brands that we use, and if its a match, we are more than happy to buy such brands over our entire life.
Having a unique set of brand characteristics, not only helps your startup to stand out but also makes it easier for customers to pay attention and remember your brand. One such strategy is to assign your new business a global cause you care about and for which you want to bring a positive change across the world. For example, DocuSign was a startup that envisioned to create an eco-friendly business by reducing the usage of paper. No doubt that they have been able to achieve this vision by saving nearly 837 tons of paper or 14,230 trees due to its relevant and different business model.
Imagine if there are thousands of new businesses that work towards the #SDGs, what greater impact we can bring together in this world. Ylemer works with the vision to help new startups that are impact-driven and can contribute towards the sustainability development goals. The purpose must not only be to make profits but also contributing your role as a member of the society and making efforts for the betterment of our future generations.
Communication is key
In today's world of brands and their excessive media campaigns, customers are lost amid the storm of messages that are thrown at them. To name a few, emails, social media, text messages, pop up ads, billboards etc. have created an immense communication clutter which leads to lack of interest and call to action from customers.
For a new startup to survive in this storm of brand messages, entrepreneurs must realize that in today's time and technology, having millions of messages to send is not as important as communicating the right one.
Now, how would you know what is that right message?
Knowing your audience
The first and the most critical step is to find out who reads, listens or sees your message for a new startup. Finding out what your potential customers want from you will make things a lot easier by saving your communication budget spent unnecessarily to cut through all that noise created by other brands only to lose its true essence in the end.
However, if you are aware of your audience and their needs, crafting a spot-on communication strategy by using your unique identity and substantial value to support your reason to exist will eventually bring more traffic to your company.
Share your story
An impact-driven startup will have an exciting story to tell. Which means as an entrepreneur, you can break all the communication barriers by coming across with an emotional and connecting story. Crafting a ‘Show, don't tell’ brand narrative makes a significant difference in attracting customers to your company. Research shows that storytelling and cause branding creates a warm glow and generates positive inclination towards the brand.
Get Help!
Many times as a new entrepreneur, you have the right vision for your startup, but may not have the right skills to convert it into attractive logo designs, graphics, creative marketing and so forth.
Seeking help from experts in the area will help create a strong brand identity a lot easier. However, if you do not have enough funds, then working a little extra on your research and communication skills will help you draft a workable initial brand strategy. Remembering your target market and how they perceive your brand is a good place to start with.
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Written By:
Sadia Mehfooz Khan
Chief Copywriter | Ylemer
