If you're looking to start a new business venture, whether you're selling a product, providing a service or both, then you'll know that branding is essential in attracting the right types of customers. Branding isn't simply a well-designed logo, or a different font on your design; it is all-encompassing. It's your impactful tagline. It's your mission and the impact you'd like to make with your service or product. It's the customer experience your clients have while interacting with your site. It is what sets you and your brand apart from all of your competitors. If learning more about branding interests you, then this is indeed the sign you've been looking for.

Brand identity, by definition, is the visible elements of a brand that identify and distinguish the brand in consumers' minds. Brand identity is distinct from brand image as the brand image is dependent on the success of the brand identity. According to Investopia, Apple Inc. consistently tops surveys of the most effective and beloved brands because it has successfully created the impression that its products are sleek, innovative, top-of-the-line status symbols, and yet eminently useful at the same time. Apple's brand identity and brand image are closely aligned as 81% of consumers say that they buy more from a brand they trust.  

Building your own brand has a few steps including, researching your target audience and your competitors, choosing a business name, designing a logo and writing a slogan, which is not the same as a positioning statement. We'll explore the difference between those two in a minute. All of these factors and more are essentially the steps to getting your brand out there. Whilst, building a brand takes time, this next little tip will help you get ahead with it.

Slogan versus positioning statement - what is the difference? According to Oxford Dictionary, a slogan is described as "a short and striking or memorable phrase used in advertising." A slogan usually points to being memorable, very concise and appealing to your desired audience. A positioning statement is one or two lines that stake your claim in the market. This isn’t necessarily something you put on your website or business card—it’s just to help you answer the right questions about your brand and aids in creating your brand’s tagline. The best formula for that, according to Shopify, would be:

[BRAND] offers [PRODUCT/SERVICE] for [TARGET MARKET] to [VALUE PROPOSITION].Unlike [THE COMPETITION], [BRAND] offers [KEY DIFFERENTIATOR].

Knowing how to position your business in your customer's mind is essential to creating a lasting impression when interacting with your brand. In The Consumer Content Report: Influence in the Digital Age, 86 percent of consumers say that authenticity is a key factor when deciding what brands they like and support. Brand authenticity is a relatively new concept, mainly pushed forward by Millennials and Gen Z. Your new ideal customer is always looking for a brand that is more than profit; they're looking to protect the earth and deal with ethical businesses. If they can’t feel that from a brand, they don’t hesitate looking for a brand that evokes that authentic feeling.

If you'd like to learn more about branding or get a consultation on how to best brand yourself, we're here to help! Click on the logo below or click here to contact us.