So you’ve successfully crafted a solid new business idea and gathered funding to transform your vision into a tangible product or service. Now, one of your many challenges is to launch as a brand.
“Most entrepreneurs launch first and then work on slowly transforming the new offering into a brand,” said Fabian Geyrhalter, Principal of the brand consultancy FINIEN, in his firm’s new book How to Launch Brand. “A logical progression. After all, how can you possibly launch as a brand if you don’t have any customers or marketing outreach and—obviously, as you just launched a new brand—you have no legacy or advocates?”
His conclusion? By design. Here are five takeaways that especially resonated with me to get your brand launched along the way, the right way:
1. Find Your New Venture’s Soul
A brand platform consists of a positioning statement, brand identity associations, brand philosophy and many more exercises that essentially define the soul of your company, or the “why” behind the “how.” A soulful exercise you should not skip, unless you solely compete on price, in which case you could skip the book altogether.
2. Your Name Should Have a Story
Your name will usually be with you forever. This is why it’s so important to devote the right amount of time to this task. The most important brand name characteristic to look out for – besides finding an available .com domain – is to ensure it tells a story. People are seeking to connect with your brand on an emotional level. The story behind your name can become a large part of that connection.
3. Strive For A Timeless Identity Design
A brand identity starts with a simplified mark that identifies your brand through a symbol, wordmark, or letterform mark. The most crucial of the seven components outlined in the book to turn your new logo into a timeless piece is to avoid any trends. Shy away from creating a hip design for a mark that needs to (and should) remain timeless.
4. Create Consistency Through Your Touch Points
Any marketing pieces need to lead back to the brand platform’s voice and the established brand identity design. Only if you apply the design and voice of your new venture in a consistent manner can it turn into a memorable (“sticky”) brand experience.
5. Ensure Your Website Is Actually Made For Them
Create three target personas with key tasks when it is time to launch an online presence for your brand. Why? This way you can review content, navigation and ease of use through the eyes of these three users. And, it will ensure you stay true to the cause: making it a great experience for your audience and not only yourself.
Geyrhalter’s new book is an easy read and available as Kindle and paperback via Amazon.