When launching your startup, there are a myriad of things to consider given that you are truly responsible for all business functions.
While operational plans, financial projections and sales strategies are often at the forefront of founders’ minds, some of the equally important startup aspects including brand strategy, communications and marketing tend to be pushed lower down the list.
However, it is crucially important for brands to design engaging identities and implement targeted communications and marketing strategies to enhance brand awareness, drive website traffic and increase conversions.
We’ve outlined our top five brand tools to invest in pre-launch to position your brand for success in often crowded marketplaces.
1: Brand mission, vision and values
Defining why your brand exists, where it’s heading and what it stands for is a fundamental aspect of nurturing your brand identity. This crucially offers prospective clients and partners an indication of what they can expect from your brand and whether your brand values align with their personal values. Defining these early on also provides an internal benchmark to use when assessing whether decisions align with your identity and your stated goals.
2: Defined client personas
Right from the outset of your startup journey, it is really important to know who you’re targeting so that you can tailor your key messages. Defining your client personas and giving them names ensures you build a detailed profile of their character, demographic details, values and purchasing habits. This enables you to target and approach different personas at the right time with relevant messages.
3: Competitor analysis
Understanding the activities of your competitors and how your sector is evolving is important in order to remain innovative and relevant to your prospective clients. We recommend setting aside time every month to analyse your competitors’ communications and marketing strategies and their product and service developments. This will give you insights in tailoring your brand strategy and differentiating your brand from a plethora of competitors.
4: Imagery
Your product or service offering could be a perfect fit for prospective clients - however, if it is not presented in the best possible way it is very difficult to build a loyal base of clients. Therefore, engaging imagery is really important. Defining a consistent style of photography as part of your brand image guidelines helps clients recognise your brand and allows your products to stand out in a crowded marketplace.
5: Customer relationship management (CRM) software
With 64% of small businesses using email marketing, this is a crucial software package to invest in as regular communication with your email subscribers can build an engaged brand community. This doesn’t just include your clients: rather, it also encompasses followers who like your offering but are still at the consideration stage of their purchasing journey. CRM platforms including MailChimp enable brands to segment subscribers based on previous purchases and tailored product recommendations, increasing your relevancy to your clients.
Are you looking for brand strategy and communications support for your launch? Contact us to discover more about how our modulated consultancy services can help.
