How often have you come up with a business idea and a rough estimate of who your audience might be, but have no clarity on how to move ahead? This read is for those who are planning to breathe life into those business ideas.
Giving your idea a shape, a personality, and a distinguished voice is what builds a brand out of your idea. Now, to head to the top of the plan's execution let’s start from the basics, shall we?
Imagine you decide to learn the art of pottery and zero down on the type of pot you want to make, here is how the class will go:
STEP ONE:
The first step is to decide which clay to use - polymer, kiln clay, air dry clay, or oven-bake clay.
This is similar to choosing a brand name and logo. Your brand name and logo are identification for your company. Ideally, you'll want a logo that's unique, identifiable, and that's responsive. Coming up with a good name and logo will mean choosing an appropriate color palette, design, fonts, and iconography.
STEP TWO:
The Second step is to knead the clay to make it more pliable. This step may seem unimportant and you may be tempted to jump to sculpting directly, but be calm. This step is one of the most important steps as it makes the clay more moldable and easier to work with.
When building a brand, this step is identifying the purpose of your brand. Only when you identify the purpose, your path becomes easier and your brand starts to take shape. This step should answer three important questions:
What – the products or services you offer to your customers
How – the things that differentiate you from the competition
Why – the reason you are passionate and why you exist
Once you have figured out the answers to these questions, you move ahead.
STEP THREE:
The third step is molding. This is the most crucial and time consuming step. It includes rolling the clay into a ball and placing it on the potter's wheel and molding it into the desired shape and size.
This step can be compared to building a brand personality. This step makes your personality stand out in every aspect of your brand building process. Once you have defined it, the trick is to be consistent with the representation of your brand’s personality across platforms. If you’re wondering how exactly a brand personality is defined, answer the key aspects:
Who you are
What do you offer
Why people should care
Having a story about the genesis of your brand will help in creating a direct emotional connection with your audience. It also helps you strike a chord with your consumers. When creating a brand story, address not what your product can do but why it is important to your customer.
STEP FOUR:
The fourth step is to bake the pot. The time and temperature will vary depending on the type of clay and the thickness of the pot. You need to bake your pot the way it needs to be done instead of rushing into it.
In the same way, the brand voice too changes from brand to brand.The tone of your brand could be positive and inspiring, humorous, emotional or even quirky. The tone of voice reflects the persona of your brand. The way you speak with your audience determines the bond you are looking to build with them and plays a key role gaining and retaining consumer attention.
Your brand voice should be tailored to your target audiences. If done right, it gives your audience a feeling about your brand that lingers and stays with them. Your brand voice should have:
Focus
Feeling
Individuality
Credibility
STEP FIVE:
Only after your pot has cooled down can you add color and decorations to it. A well-painted pot that is beautifully decorated is sure to make you smile every time you see it.
Similarly, in the case of a brand, you need to wait for the right time to implement your marketing strategy. A marketing strategy should be planned well in advance and tweaked up to match the latest trends. You need to consider the following key questions in order to perfect your marketing strategy:
· What to do?
· How to implement it?
· Where to implement it?
Keep in mind that your marketing strategy must make the most of your strengths and match them to the needs of your target audience. So channelise your creativity and have fun mastering the art of creating a robust content strategy.
While your beautiful pot will make you smile, a good content strategy is sure to breathe life into your brand, making your audience connect with you!