Make sure it’s not the latter by following this quick guide to building a successful brand:
Step 1. Define Your Purpose
Defining your purpose is the key to distinguishing yourself from the competition and creating a lifelong connection with your clients. There are thousands of other companies that offer the same professional services you do — why should clients choose you? That’s what you need to ask yourself when you’re establishing a new brand. Modern consumers are no longer basing their decisions solely on price; they want to stand behind a company whose values and beliefs align with their own. In fact, 68% of consumers would switch from a “brand-name” company to a lesser-known company with a purpose-driven brand. Therefore, it’s more important than ever to outline what your company stands for.
A great way to get started on defining your brand purpose is to use The Golden Circle model developed by Simon Sinek, author of Start With Why and speaker of the famous How Great Leaders Inspire Action TED Talk. The Golden Circle is composed of three rings:
- WHAT: This is the outermost circle of the rings, which summarizes what products and services you offer.
- HOW: This is the middle circle, which describes how you differentiate yourself from competitors.
- WHY: This is the innermost circle, which defines why you choose to do what you do.
Successful brands always start with why, and they strategically integrate their purpose through multiple touchpoints.
Step 2. Develop a Brand Identity
Now that you have a clear purpose, it’s time to give your brand a voice and share your vision with the world.
The professional services market is made up of about 900,000 organizations. With this many competitors, it’s easy to get lost in the crowd. Developing a powerful brand identity will help your business gain credibility, profitability, and a competitive advantage in your specific sector.
Brand identity refers to the tangible attributes of your brand, such as a logo, tagline, design, business name, color palette, messaging, special promotions, etc. Ultimately, this is how you will communicate with your consumer base and bring your brand to life. It is through these visual elements that clients will familiarize themselves and engage with your brand, forming an emotional connection that sets you apart from the competition and raises brand awareness.
A lot of research, creativity, and close attention to detail should go into developing your brand identity. Start by researching your target market, establishing your unique value proposition, and creating a brand style. Then, implement this strategy across all touchpoints to create a cohesive brand identity. Consistency is incredibly important throughout the whole branding process because it establishes trustworthiness, reliability, and quality — three important factors that clients look for in a professional service.
Your brand will only have one identity, one voice, one personality, so you have to make sure you get it right!
Step 3. Invest in Brand Marketing
By this point, you could have the most amazing brand in the world…and it wouldn’t make a difference if it didn’t get in front of the right eyes. That’s where brand marketing comes in!
Brand marketing utilizes strategic communication tools and channels to establish an emotional connection between your brand and your target audience. When executed correctly, brand marketing could become your company’s most valuable asset and most important investment, bringing in lifetime consumers who choose to become brand ambassadors.
Building the perfect brand marketing strategy is no easy task. You have to reach the right audience at the right place at the right time. It’s a lot of pressure for any business, so don’t be discouraged if you don’t hit it out of the park right away. In fact, you’re bound to make some rookie mistakes in the process. But worry not! At 1SEO, we’ve got your back, and we’re proud to present you with our most recent white paper, Top 3 Branding Mistakes for Professional Services, where you can learn all the industry secrets about the stairway to success.
Download the whitepaper here or contact us to learn more about our digital marketing services and what we can do for you!