How to Build Your Brand: Proven Steps with Examples 

Last updated on March 28th, 2024

Are you pumped up to build your brand? Don’t know where to begin? Stay with us till the end of this guide with proven steps and examples to make your dream come true. All your queries and concerns are covered to take your goal of building a personal brand off the ground.

Are you considering building your brand from the ground up?

You are not alone! Building a brand is the ultimate dream of every business. Implementing the right approach can help you do that. And when you do so, it can work like a potent tool to be distinguished in the competitive business sphere. Besides, it can earn you loyal customers and boost revenue. But the question is how to build your brand. Here is a handy guide with examples to kick your brand-building journey off the ground.

How To Build a Brand

Contrary to popular belief, building a new brand isn’t as challenging as one may assume. We’ve broken down the whole process into these simple steps. Let’s discuss them one by one.

01. Understand Your Market, Target Audience, and Competitors

Let’s begin building your brand with the groundwork. Before you move ahead in making any decisions, research your market. Start by seeking answers to the questions — who are your potential audience, how’s the competition, and who are your competitors?

If You Struggle To Figure It Out, Here’s How You Can Do This:

• Search your products or services on Google. Or ask the Chat GPT for a competitive analysis. Now, analyze the competitors (both direct and indirect) appearing in the searches or suggestions.
• Keep track of the social platforms and pages your target audience visits or follows.
• Put yourself in your customers’ shoes, and find out how they would purchase or browse.
• Interact with people (mainly from your target market) and survey them about what brands they prefer for shopping.

Don’t Forget To Take Note of The Following:

• Customers who are easy to convince to purchase.
• Top brands in the same niche.
• What are the customers’ preferred products, and do they primarily communicate in English or other languages?

If you do this, knowing your competitors and how you can set yourself apart becomes easier.

Example:

McDonald’s, a well-established fast-food chain, relies on market research to stay at the number one position.

Its market research strategy involves four key questions. It changes its menu or introduces new items based on the answers the brand gets through these questions.

Many McDonald’s customers expressed their concern over adding healthy and organic items. So the brand took their feedback and introduced apple slices and other options. It also launched a campaign to raise awareness that its patties and nuggets have real meat.

02. Set Your Brand’s Voice and Personality

You can’t launch your brand on a “one size fits all” term, especially when it’s just taking baby steps. So staying focused and instilling the same idea in your products meant for brand building is crucial.

Don’t know how to do it? Ask these questions to set the voice and personality of your brand.

What is your mission statement?

If you don’t know it, no worries. A mission statement is one or two lines that summarize your brand. In simple language, it gives a clear idea of what your brand is all about. No, you don’t have to show it on your site or anywhere else. It just answers the question of what you really do.

For example, we provide sustainable storage materials to cut back carbon footprints.

This is your mission statement that works as your value proposition too. So discover and make it an integral part of your overall messaging.

What words best define your business?

If you want to succeed in how to build your brand quest, assume that it’s an individual and not an entity. What kind of personality would you like it to give? Finding the answer to this question will help you set the tone and voice for its visual assets and writing.

One way to define your brand’s personality is to find a few adjectives that describe it. Take a clue from the list below to find the adjectives suiting your brand.

Example:

Disney is a big global player in the entertainment industry, synonymous with fun and excitement. People of all ages love watching Disney movies or visiting Disneyland out of sheer excitement. They all share the same feeling about this brand. So, its personality is quite apparent through these adjectives — excitement, delight, cheerful, and more.

03. Select a Suitable Business Name

“The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their proper name”—Confucius. Don’t ever think about what’s in a name; it has everything! After thorough market research and brand personality definition, it’s time to choose a name for your brand.

Your company’s name is one of the most significant elements. Based on the name, you can create a logo, choose a domain, build a marketing strategy, and even go for trademark registration. However, choosing a generic business name might cause challenges in trademarks.

So get yourself a business name that is unique, easy to remember, and fits your needs. Do not restrict your business name to a geographical boundary. Sometimes, a limited name can create a hindrance in business expansion plans.

To brainstorm some unique names, seek the help of a business name generator or follow these tips:

• Choose a single word. For example, Twitter, Meta, Pepsi, etc.
• Go with acronyms. For example, IBM, UPS, HBO, HP, H&M, etc.
• Choose a fruit or animal name. For example, Apple, Jaguar, etc.
• Play with words or made-up names. For example, Lyft, Flickr, Tumblr, etc.
• Combine or add up two words. For example, TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.
• Pick a descriptive name. For example, The Container Store, Bank of America, The Body shop, etc.

Since your company name will be on your domain or website, check sites like GoDaddy to check the availability of your domain name.

Note: Do not choose a similar-sounding name for your brand. Instead, practice business name ideas with your colleagues, family, and friends.

04. Decide The Colors and Fonts

So you have chosen your name, now what? Now is the time to envision a visual representation of your brand! Before you start building your website, decide on the colors and fonts.

Why choosing the right colors is essential? Well, colors make your business appear unique and depict the feeling you want to convey. So go for colors that set you apart from your competitors.

Let’s look at some branding statistics & color psychology facts that demonstrate the effect of color on consumer behavior:

• According to branding statistics, colors alone can influence up to 90% of initial first impressions.(Source: University of South California)
• Color boosts brand awareness and recognition by 80%.

You can understand the impact of colors on consumers through this infographic.

Credit: Neil Patel: https://neilpatel.com/blog/color-psychology/

Consider how different colors will work with your brand or against it. Create a color palette that perfectly exhibits the essence of your brand. Tools like Coolors, Adobe Color CC, iWantHue, and more can be used. Take the help of any of these tools to find a shade that suits your brand.

Font Selection

While choosing colors, it’s a good idea to look at your font selection. Refrain from being experimental in typography selection. Choose only two fonts to make sure everything is clear. Look around; the top brands in the world have very simple fonts. They don’t use a fancy or twinkling font but pick the simplest ones.

Google Fonts, Typewold, Fontpair, FontJoy, etc., are some of the best tools for browsing a wide array of fonts.

05. Create Your Business Logo

The moment you start thinking about building your own brand, perhaps a logo is what pops out immediately in your mind. But paying thorough attention to it may benefit you later. Because a logo is your company’s face, it must be everywhere — from social media to brochures, letterheads, websites, etc.

Ideally, you have two ways to create it — by hiring a freelance designer or agency or on your own using a logo creator.

Research different types of logos first, then pick the one that reflects your brand identity. For example, you can select from logotypes, emblems, monograms, abstracts, or mascot logos.

06. Implement Your Branding

Now you’re ready to implement your branding across all channels. It will give your business a brand story, which resolves the query surrounding “who,” “what,” and “why.” This is the phase when you set the stage for customer interaction, whether online or offline.

But to be transparent in customers’ eyes, it’s vital for a brand, which is still in the developing phase, to put some legitimate write-ups for the end users. It will give them a look into what you do and who you really are. Then, create an ‘About Us’ section to provide the information. After all, customers need to know who they are buying from. This section is also beneficial for showing off your mission statement, values, and corporate social responsibility, if any.

Every business has a brand story, and yours does too. So share it across all the channels.

Answer These Questions To Get Your Brand Story Right:

• What inspired you to kick off your entrepreneurial journey?
• What’s the purpose behind this company’s existence?
• How does your business contribute to the world?
• What’s the story that your target audience should know?

These days, not every business is set on certain values or missions. But you can create one and share the brand story with your audience.

Take inspiration from brands like Airbnb, Apple, IBM, Amazon, etc. They all are mission-driven.

Conclusion

Building a solid brand is an indispensable aspect of businesses of all types — small or large, and it’s imperative to get it right. Remember, it’s not a one-time task but an ongoing process, and it’s never too late to begin. Everything, from a unique and meaningful logo that reflects the brand personality to a persuasive slogan and business name, is crucial in brand-building.

Furthermore, ensuring that every interaction with consumers aligns well with your brand’s voice and personality is equally important. So, put your best foot forward, take your time, do research, and then start developing your brand.

Get Your Brand Identity