Thursday, 6 June 2013

Getting Your Business Out There; How To Raise Brand Profile

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Billboard Edmonton - Wikimedia Commons
Billboard Edmonton - Wikimedia Commons
It’s fair to say that this is a big gap in what information is available to business. It seems that the vast majority of information is geared towards people looking to start their own business – or those who are already very successful.

But it shouldn't be. There are so many things that a business has to go through after it initially starts. One of the most difficult things that can bridge the gap between a start-up and an established company is having a recognizable brand.

So, let’s explore how you can do that?

Define Yourself And Your Business

Vraagteken - Wikimedia Commons
Vraagteken - Wikimedia Commons
Okay, so your start-up is cruising along the business highway and you want to make the jump to the big time. The first thing to think about when trying to establish your brand or make it more recognizable is to define yourself as a company.

Of course you know what your business is all about, but the odds are that everybody else has no idea. Therefore, you need to define the core values of your business as the first step to creating a more recognizable brand. Once these values are defined you can then start to develop and market them. But what are core values?
Business Dictionary defines core values as;

“A principle that guides an organization's internal conduct as well as its relationship with the external world. Core values are usually summarized in the mission statement or in a statement of core values.”

That pretty much sums it up. Basically anything that is important to you can be a core value, so make a list of around 5-10 and refine it so that if someone asks you what your business is about you can reel off a few quite easily.

Develop A Brand Image

Pittura Painting - Wikimedia Commons
Pittura Painting - Wikimedia Commons
Take your core values and use them to develop a brand image. What you need to do first of all is decide how you want to be perceived. Do you want people to think of you or your services as slick and professional, corporate and business like? Or do you want people to think you’re cool and alternative, hip and brash?

Whatever you decide upon, you will then need to develop a tone of voice. This will form the basis of all yourcommunications and branding. The tone is very important. When developing your tone of voice think about three words that define your tone the most. For example – Slick, Professional, Corporate or maybe Cool, Alternative, Hip.

Essentially, the brand image is the personality of your business. This translates into your logo, website design or any other type of company communication.

Marketing

There is a lot to be said about branding, but one of the main things to do is properly market your business to get the exposure that you need to generate business. It’s possible to do all the marketing yourself, but you may preferoutsourced marketing services so you can focus on the day-to day tasks of your business. Jim Joseph of Entrepreneur.com says “start-ups should take a big brand approach to marketing”.

What this means is that you should aim high, try and be inspiring to others. This is a bit loose, but here are a couple of practical tips for marketing;

• Focus On Your Website – unless you’re a big corporation, you won’t be able to get much in the way of traditional advertising. Digital marketing is a great way to advertise to a target audience
• Go Local – using local connections to other business can be helpful for marketing purposes; you could also have a look at local web based companies and trade advertising
• Expand Slowly – there is no point paying for a massive billboard downtown when you’re trying to grow, you will probably only be able to keep it for a few days and it will have little effect. Expand slowly and make sure any expenditure is sustainable, this way your marketing or advertising will take root and grow

Marketing is a very important aspect of creating a recognizable brand, and it’s a big part of making that jump from start-up to established business.

Brand Awareness And Profile

You’re going to have a lot to do when it comes to making your start up into an established and successful company. There’s no reason that it can’t be done, but there are many different ways that a start-up can progress to a more established business by raising their brand profile.

Thanks for reading. I’d love to know what you think so please feel free to comment below. If you liked this piece then make sure you check out the rest of my work on WikiNut, I would particularly recommend “Efficiency, Synergy & Teamwork – Increasing Collaboration In A Modern Business”.

I write on a number of subjects, and across a number of platforms, so make sure you follow me on Twitter for all the latest news and updates - @BradYoung04

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