When you think of Apple as a brand, does the image of the spectacular spaceship headquarters in the lush flats of Cupertino come to mind, or you’re reminded of a company renowned for prioritizing innovation? Starting an online brand requires creating an image in the minds of your target audience, encouraging them to buy into a vision that you hope would live on for a long time.
Therefore it’s no walk in the park. There’s a lot that goes into brand building. It is what eventually differentiates a Mc Donald from just another Pizza shop downtown , or a Shoprite from a random shopping plaza across the street.
The journey to starting your online brand from scratch can be a lot easier too, when you know how to integrate the different aspects and elements together.
How do you do that? Let’s take a walk through 7 steps you need to note when starting an online brand.
Starting an online brand from scratch: 7 proven strategies
1- Conduct a market research:
Market research is the first and most crucial step in starting an online brand from scratch . You don’t know what people want until you ask or dig deeper into what drives them and why they do the things they do.
“Whoever understands the customer best, wins” – Mike Gospe
Understanding your customers , their wants, needs, motivations and desires will not only help you build better products, it could unlock doors to new opportunities for your brand too.
An example is the toy company, Lego, who in recent years shifted their target markets towards making toys that appeal to girls, after discovering 10% of their users were female, even though they were targeting males. This insight helped boost their revenue and helped them reach a wider audience.
2- Craft a unique value proposition
Your unique value proposition is a clear and concise statement that explains the benefits your brand offers, how you solve the consumer’s problem and what makes you stand out.
Do not mistake it for a slogan, “Just Do It” is not Nike’s unique value proposition, it’s their brand positioning statement. Their unique value proposition is to provide fashionable, innovative, and high-performance shoes for customers in every sport to meet their changing demands.
Notice they didn’t begin by glorifying the brand or boring the audience about their wealth of expertise and professional conduct. Your UVP should be written in the language of the customer, avoid those hype phrases like best, incredible, miraculous and the likes.
Let’s see one more example from Trello
“Trello brings all your tasks, teammates and tools together. Keep everything in the same place even if your team isn’t”
3- Create unique and appealing brand elements
They say a picture paints a thousand words, but when it comes to starting an online brand, a picture could paint a million feelings. Your brand elements are part of the identity of your brand. Everything must be in sync and must be appealing to the customer.
It is important because your customers eventually identify with your brand elements and any slight change may impact your brand significantly. What would you think of an iPhone with a half eaten orange as the logo? It has to be fake right.
You want to choose a logo, a mix of color, a name that your customers will be glad to associate with. Remember you are building a personality for your brand, even for such decisions as the color themes of your website, font size and layout designs. Studies have shown that color alone can increase brand recognition by 80% and impact 85% of customers buying decisions.
4- Tell a compelling brand story
Don’t leave out the place of a good brand story. A brand story explains the series of events that led you to where you are today and what motivated you to start your business. When consumers know your why, they find it easier to connect with you more. And what happens when you are able to develop an emotional bond with someone, they think of you first and more often.
However, not every story captivates the audience . A compelling brand story is that which contains the following, let’s take an example of a plastic upcycling company, PUP Industries.
- A status quo: Over 60 million Nigerians take pure water daily, disposing the sachet in the environment after use
- Conflict: These pure water sachets contribute largely to plastic pollution, blocking drainages where they cause flooding and malaria infestation or end up in landfills where they are burnt into toxic carbon monoxide, putting more lives in danger.
- Resolution: PUP Industries take a revolutionary approach by converting this pure water sachet into valuable products such as shoe polish and emulsion paint, reducing plastic pollution
5- Establish a brand communication strategy:
Aside from aesthetics, what makes your brand sexy and appealing online is how you choose to communicate your values to your customers. When people come across your product, the question they ask is, how will this benefit me, and depending on your messaging, decide in their mind what to do.
Well does that mean you can directly control what people think about your product? No you can’t control the minds of your customers, but you can influence their decisions at certain touch points and that’s where brand communication strategy comes in.
To develop a good communication strategy, you need to know your audience journey, their demographics and psychographics, then you find out what keeps them up at night, what we all call pain points. Afterwards find out where you could come in as the hero and deliver the outcome they desire.
Get that right and you can begin to develop your core message, messaging style and communication channels. Do not forget to choose the right language and tone to evoke the right emotions and build a long lasting relationship with your audience. When you do this, your journey to starting an online brand becomes more hitchfree.
6- Engage with your audience
The success of starting an online brand is tied to engagement. How involved are your customers in your marketing process, what are their reactions, what do they say about you, how many of them are recommending your product.
An engaged audience keeps you informed about what’s best for them and what’s not. Most importantly, they can be a rich source of ideas and inspirations, one complaint, one question, one review, can help you make much better decisions
But you cannot get an engaged audience if you’re not engaging your audience. Get that? Show up more often and interact with other people. This will also keep you abreast of industry changes and trends.
7- Maintain your brand reputation
The work doesn’t stop after building a successful online brand. It’s time to maintain your reputation in the market, and there are a lot of reasons why you should care.
Your brand reputation is the opinion people form about you, and what others say you are. A study confirmed 75% of customers would count on word of mouth to make a purchase, and a 5% boost in your brand reputation could lead to a 2.5% increase in sales.
Customers’ beloved toy company Lego, witnessed a 17% growth in 2022 due partly to its reputation. What people say about you matters. Ensure you own your brand narrative with a consistent and unique brand identity, and constantly improving product quality.
Starting a strong online brand requires creating an image in the minds of your target audience, encouraging them to buy into a vision that you hope would live on for a long time.
Conclusion
The exciting journey of starting an online brand requires dedication, strategic planning, and a commitment to building lasting relationships with your target audience. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can effectively establish your brand in the digital landscape and achieve long-term success.
Here’s a summary of the key takeaways:
- Conduct thorough market research.
- Craft a unique value proposition.
- Create appealing brand elements.
- Tell a compelling brand story.
- Establish a clear brand communication strategy.
- Engage with your audience.
- Prioritize brand reputation management.
Remember, starting an online brand is an ongoing process, not a one-time event. By continuously refining your strategies and adapting to the ever-changing digital landscape, you can maintain a competitive edge and attract loyal customers who resonate with your brand’s values and offerings. As you embark on this exciting venture, keep in mind that starting an online brand is a journey, not a destination. Enjoy the process, embrace challenges as opportunities for growth, and celebrate every milestone along the way.