GET YOUR HOUSE IN ORDER

A Start-Up Company’s Blueprint to

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Every brand has a story to tell and the first phase of constructing a strong brand is getting your vision on paper. Begin by identifying those people who have helped you get this far, and actively engage them in this process. Sit down with your partners, investors, advisors, and mentors for a thorough discussion of your unique business proposition. Take no prisoners as you hammer away at that broad business offering until you narrow the field to what you do best, what you love most and keep only that which you can deliver better than anyone else. The process of conceptualizing your business for the purpose of creating a brand strategy is best done with your internal team and professional marketing support. Even if you can’t afford to pay for creative support at this point, you can still do the basics of positioning your business to provide a blueprint to build your brand.

The most recognizable business mantra is Real Estate’s location, location, location. The key to branding your start-up has an equally important but often overlooked cornerstone of success. It all starts with positioning.

• Who are you• What do you do• Why should they buy from you

Big brands can fill pages with market strategy and research on positioning and differentiation. Since start-ups don’t have the luxury of a market research team or the budget to do a brand deep dive, it’s time to get a little help from your friends.

THE BRAND BLUEPRINT

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Competitive Landscape Analysis sounds expensive but it doesn’t have to be. Now that you know who you are, the next step is to figure out who else has your customer’s attention. Time to search the web. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes and try shopping for the unique business offering you plan to provide. One of the best things you can do as a start-up is to take a virtual tour to preview your competition. What are they doing right? How can you learn from them to help get your product or service off the ground floor? Identify what they are doing wrong, so you can avoid those setbacks. The best lessons can be learned from other’s mistakes and it saves you time and money to do it right the first time. Most importantly what can you do to differentiate yourself from them so that you stand out and break through the clutter. Congratulations – in big business terms, you’ve just completed the two most important steps to position your business:

• Competitive Market Analysis • Positioning

Effective positioning doesn’t happen by accident so skipping this step is not an option. It is your down payment on your brand and the foundation of every minute and dollar you spend on marketing in the future. Now you are ready to proceed with the most popular step in brand development, creating the visual image of your brand. Most start-ups jump to the design step and begin their marketing by creating a logo. So consider yourself ahead of the game.

SEEK FIRST TO KNOW YOUR COMPETITION’S FLOOR PLAN

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What results from effective positioning is an overall marketing strategy and brand which positions your business powerfully in the minds of your target market. Once your vision is expressed in the brand story and you have differentiated your offering from the competition, the next steps of brand building are those with which people are most familiar. Your logo operates as an instant visual reminder of the brand and can include a symbol that is universally understood. This helps the public recognize and make an instant association with your product, service or business. By strategically applying color, an icon and a customized font, you can make your logo stand out.

PUT YOUR BEST FACADE FORWARD

BRAND COLORColor evokes emotion. Each color has a specific meaning which must be considered before incorporating it into your logo. An analysis of how the key players in your field use color is a must before you choose your own. If your competitor owns red—try a design in another color that works for you. If others come out after you and copy that color, it’s ok—as long as you are out first and set the pace.

BRAND SYMBOLAn icon should make sense with your brand story and forward the logo. Icon is defined as a compelling yet uncomplicated image that conveys a literal or abstract representation of your product, service or company. The key here is to be completely different and yet relevant to who you are and what you do and not just something that looks cool. Stay away from an icon that had been used by another in your industry. It is better to skip the icon than have one that reminds your customers of a competitor.

BRAND TYPEFACECustom fonts forever set you apart from the competition. It is relatively inexpensive to add this feature to your brand identity package but very costly to recover from a do-it-yourself font selection. Be very careful here. You want to make sure your typeface can stand the test of time. A font can start to look dated really quick and before you know it your brand is looking like it was created in the olden days. Too often people want to choose a font that really stands out by choosing something really cool and edgy. Just remember to make the letterform unique without going overboard. Check the readability. The customer should be able to easily distinguish your name no matter how small the ad or posting. If you’re choosing something too out there and flashy you may turn the customer off. Show that font the front door if it misses on either of these areas. Clean and readable is the key.

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It used to be that print advertising was the only choice to express your brand. Now start-ups have a more cost effective method of reaching their customers on the web. How your brand evolves can be expressed in a number of promotional tactics in various channels. Keep in mind that these opportunities call for new yet related creative to further inspire and engage your target market. If you don’t have thousands of dollars to create multi-channel marketing campaigns, focus on the key drivers of where your audience is located; pick a few tactics and do them well.

Some options include:• Website Development• Email Marketing Campaigns• Promotional Videos• Sales collateral

Social selling is a great way for start-ups, on a budget, to reach their audience and put their brand to work. Although the standard approach is to get the website up and running and collateral printed today you can do more with less so consider at least one ongoing strategy to promote brand awareness. An important part of the market research for any brand is to determine how customers will access your business offering. The number of people using digital devices to do business increases every day. In the next ten years, the buying public will include an even larger percentage of people who have grown up with the internet and the face of business will evolve to meet their buying preferences. We recommend you build your brand to take advantage of the handheld screen size of mobile devices and the instant gratification offered on social media platforms. Design has never been more important because the image must stand on its own with clarity and a message that survives anything from a one inch screen to live action video.

GET IN FRONT OF YOUR AUDIENCE AND STAY THERE

OPEN HOUSE

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Hold a positioning meeting

to incorporate your business

vision into a brand story.

Analyze the competition.

Determine if there is an icon which will

enhance your brand positioning.

Examine the impact of color and custom fonts on your logo.

Be consistent and establish brand recognition, not only visually

but with your messaging as well.

Expect your brand to be accessed digitally and build in that compatibility.

Carry the icon, font, colors and tagline throughout your collateral and

web presence including social media.

Make sure social channels are consistently set-up so people can easily

find you and your brand.

Make all of your creative original, evocative and memorable.

Get help when you need it.

This is a place to start for anyone serious about building a solid brand identity. Consider your brand a down payment on your business that will pay off for years to come. Budget for brand building in the business plan and build in an annual investment for renovations which refresh your brand as your company evolves. Include your development team in the process and don’t skip steps. Go in order and remember that a do-it-yourself brand can do more harm than good. Working with a design team in each of these steps can make the difference between being the new kid on the block and competing with seasoned professionals on your home turf.

HOW NOT TO WASTE MONEY – PUNCH LIST TO BRAND RIGHT THE FIRST TIME

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W H E R E B R A N D S L I V E

To see more Xavier Creative House designsxaviercreative.com

Let’s face it, everyone is trying to control expenses for their business, but brand creation is not the place to skimp.

Your brand persona is the visual equivalent of your business reputation.

Given that, design support is definitely something to put in your business plan, start-up expenses and annual budget. The artistry of evocative creative cannot be faked. The process begins with your brand story and telling it in a way your customer will remember with consistency across your collateral, website and social media platforms.

Xavier Creative House has the talent and passion to give every brand design an original flare and impact. We have professional experience behind what we do. As a start-up ourselves, we went through the same process we have recommended in the previous chapters. We specialize in working with start-up businesses because we believe that branding right the first time can be the difference between the success and failure of your launch.

Get Help When You Most Need It

THE MOST IMPORTANT MOVE YOU’LL EVER MAKE