When is the right time to start building your brand?
I need some expert help from entrepreneurs and small business owners: Are you deliberately building your brand? If not, why not? What would you like to learn about brand building? (I am developing an online course, and could use some input – both for the finishing touches and for the marketing.)
Thanks,
Julie
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Nov 15, 2012
Nothing is so destructive to a small business as building a brand before building a business.
Your brand is more about who you hire/partner with and why you do the work you do than anything that is traditionally called "marketing".
Nov 15, 2012
Working with serial entrepreneurs I see the brand identification process as a valuable part in defining the strengths of the business idea and the role of the entrepreneur him/herself.
The great opportunity to start with branding in the (pre) startup stage is that 'test, learn, adjust' is enriching the development of the product before it can be tested on a real client.
Branding is the experience the client has with what you offer as a company. No product ready, no clients, does not mean you have to wait finding out what is in tune with what you think is important to deliver. "When you can't do great things, do small things, in a great way". Charge your brand with quality ideas.
http://www.id-kitchen.se
Nov 14, 2012
I say build your brand from the beginning. Otherwise, your products and services are generic and do not denote any special qualities that the marketplace will be drawn to over time. The qualities that are associated with your brand will either attract or discourage buyers. It is a bit painful to structure your brand so I would like to see a branding matrix that would help me understand my competitors brand better and help me build my brand in light of the advantages and disadvantages that I face in a competitive world.
Nov 16, 2012
Joseph, I agree but I still see a lot of entrepreneurs treating brand as a last minute afterthought. "Oh yea, I need to get a logo." I wonder if you and others in the group have any thoughts on why this might be. Is it just a lack of understanding of what brand really means and can do for your business?
Nov 18, 2012
I think that many entrepreneurs are deal focused and look at the rest of their business as something that will happen if this one deal goes through. What they don't realize is that if one company shapes their business image it may not appeal to other companies that they want to do business with.
Nov 14, 2012
Kenneth, I can empathize with your answer, but I think it really depends. When it's early on and you are still in start up mode, you have nothing, but you want to be heard and found. So you have to start somewhere initially, and then spend more time being active in brand building as you grow, and build around those success stories.
I have founded 2 companies to date, one consulting services, and another a software product. I spent no time building a brand with my consulting company until I had a couple of deals under my belt. I found it overwhelming to start doing this "cold" later on, because by that time business was booming, it was extremely difficult to pull myself away to focus on it. It took me 3 times longer to get to where I wanted to be, than if I had at least started on a foundation.
The product company was different, because of how much stronger an influence/factor brand plays, so we started building it right out of the gate, and never let up. So in the end, most entrepreneurs know what they need to do to build brand, but the "deliberacy" will vary greatly depending on what stage the business is in, and what industry.
Nov 14, 2012
The right time, is when you have a message that helps your target market and has proof that it really works. For me a brand has NO meaning unless it has proven results for your ideal client. When your message is meeting the need (providing true benefits) to your market, you will have a brand that others want to know. So, building a brand first is why most entrepreneurs fail at marketing. Message FIRST (building proven results in your niche) WILL cause your brand to be built.
Nov 16, 2012
Hi kenneth, thanks for commenting. I agree that products and services have to really deliver before we can promote them. However, I don't think things have to be 100% perfect before launch. I think you can concentrate on doing a few things really well and then get them out there. I am a big believer in living in beta. Too often I've seen entrepreneurs hid behind "getting it 100% right" before they take action.
Nov 16, 2012
A good point Kenneth about the "ideal client". When I first started out, my ideas about who my ideal client might be at that time were very different from who that ideal client would be now. Experience and research allows you to better understand the needs of your customer and the application of your product or offering - intended or otherwise. When you start out you need to be a little fluid so you can run yourself into niche areas easily and then if it feels right, begin developing your brand to fit.
Nov 16, 2012
Both great points Julie and Simon, I can see you both have the right mindset about "marketing" and also what is the "how to" or "right time" to start building your brand!
I feel that to grow your business, your message has to find the target. We all know that the problem is that when our message (marketing) is not striking a cord with our "ideal" we suffer and thus our brand is seen in the eyes of our customers as of NO value.
Nov 14, 2012
Hi Julie,
Great question. As an entrepreneur I am always deliberately trying to build the brands that I work on. I curate and actively post content that I believe my followers will benefit from and will gain me retweets, new followers and allow me the ability to show up in search results.
Although I think many people focus on building their brands, they don't understand what actions they did that were successful. I think educating people about how to build a successful branding plan/campaign would help immensely.
Sarah
Nov 14, 2012
Thanks Sarah. That is great input.
Julie
http://www.BrandTwist.com
Agreed. See comment above. I think if you spend time upfront refining your promise (and who you are targeting) this brand promise can actually serve as a filter and help you make important decisions from day one more quickly and with less second guessing. ex. who to hire, who to partner with, what products to develop etc.