Branding is a crucial aspect for any business, and at the same time it is horribly tricky to get right. Creating a brand for one business is hard enough, so just imagine years down the line when you would have to completely rebrand your business or integrate a secondary business to add to your main identity. In any case, one thing’s for sure: it’s not a walk in the park.
It all starts with a solid idea. Let’s get something straight from the beginning. Businesses that have successful branding and have the potential for great expansion are not conceptualized on the spot. It takes a good plan and a solid brand foundation that does not limit the potential for business growth in any way. In this case, it is important to plan for short-term successes as well as to look forward to future possibilities that shouldn’t be missed. A solid brand is a versatile brand.
Consider two businesses: one has a well-defined marketing plan while the other is looser and more spontaneous with its decisions. While the latter may seem a more flexible approach at first glance, it is also incredibly risky and unpredictable; one wrong choice can set your branding efforts in a completely wrong (and failing) direction. On the other hand, when you know exactly where you want to go with your branding, decisions come easier, and though there is still a certain degree of improvisation involved, you are less likely to get lost.
Don’t trap yourself in a box. Be creative; look underneath. Rebranding yourself entails being open to at least some degree of change in your image, your services, or any other aspect of your business. If you entrench yourself into an overly specific, inflexible brand, you would get a big headache come the time when you absolutely need rebranding to stay afloat. It would also be wise to consider into your rebranding plan today’s technological advancements and possible marketing channels wherein you can promote your brand. The channels and media where your demographic often lingers is a factor not to be ignored any longer and should be considered when painting a new face for your business. You need appeal to your demographic no matter where they may be.
Branding two separate businesses has potential for being simple, but as two different products drift further away from each other you are going to need to dig deeper and deeper into your creative stash in order to make that connection. When you have established yourself as a clothing brand, for example, you’d have a tougher time introducing a food line as opposed to a shoe line because one is simply more closely linked with your main trade. It is easier, after all, to match up shoes to a dress than food.
Have patience; Follow Through. The unfortunate truth to it all is that branding and rebranding are processes that take years to pan out. If there’s anything that will be as far from an overnight affair as possible, it would be branding, which means that you need to persevere and wait for quite a while before you see concrete results. One of the branding mistakes you can commit is not having enough patience to wait and deliver everything you promised to your customers.
Don’t get too excited when you find some tips for quick-starting a business, either. There is no such thing as a free lunch, and sooner or later you would need to just sit back and wait for your branding efforts to take fruit. Rushing leads to mistakes and even minor things can completely mess up the brand image that you have worked hard to create. Patience pays off.
No matter how big your business is or how many there are, branding will play a huge part in its success. A year from now or 10 years from now your brand will not be the same as it is today, and it is up to you whether the change is for better or for worse.
