2020 has been quite a turbulent year, to put it mildly. Many businesses have halted their operations due to the global pandemic, and the uncertainty that still lingers has many companies worried about what to do next. The reality of this setback is that you can still do something.
That said, now is as good as time as any to develop a unique brand for your business. Of course, branding isn’t something that happens overnight. Moreover, you still require funds, dedication and effort to develop a truly great brand.
Even if business is slow, there are still a lot of things you can do. More importantly, a unique brand will elevate your business, especially in these times of turmoil, and help you overcome this crisis successfully. With that in mind, here’s how to develop a unique brand identity in 2020.
Research your target audience
Market research is vital to brand development in many ways. For example, you have to research your target audience so that you know how to tailor your messages and your products or services to them efficiently.
That said, no matter if your brand is B2C or B2B oriented, you have to develop customer personas to determine who you are selling to and how. Another reason this is essential is that you have to know your audience before you can create a unique brand identity.
As you may already know, a brand identity helps you present your company to consumers in the best way possible so that they can relate and engage with your brand more seamlessly.
Therefore, create your customer personas based on your target audience’s demographics, general interests, preferences, needs, demands, expectations and purchasing behavior. That way, it will be easier to craft your own brand identity that will drive your business forward.
Create a strong branding strategy
As you may know, branding is more than just developing a logo and calling your business a brand. Branding includes many more factors, and most of them create your brand identity when combined.
That’s why creating a strong branding strategy is a crucial part of developing a unique brand identity. For example, you can start by defining your brand. That includes determining core values, a brand promise and a mission statement.
Next, you can create a brand personality or persona to humanize your brand and give it a unique tone of voice. Then it’s time to position your brand through marketing, advertising and proper messaging. When all of these factors and strategies come together, they portray a unique brand identity that you present in the open market.
How unique your brand identity will be, depends on your efforts to make it unique. After all, a brand is supposed to help your company differentiate itself from other businesses and from other brands as well. That’s why you must do everything that you can to make your brand stand out from the others.
Work on internal branding
A well-developed brand identity isn’t just about what you present or show to your audience but also about what happens within the company. That said, by creating a company culture that embraces your brand’s core values, mission statement and brand promise, you can actually deliver upon consumer expectations, perhaps even exceed those expectations as well.
What your brand shows and what it does are two sides of the same coin, and they cannot contradict each other in any way. That’s why internal branding is vital for efficient brand development. One of the main benefits is that you’ll be able to recruit perfect fits for your company’s culture.
You’ll know exactly how to find the right employees, and top talents that share your brand’s views will be more than interested in becoming part of your team. Furthermore, those employees can easily become brand ambassadors that will promote and highlight your brand identity even further.
Developing a unique selling proposition
A USP (Unique Selling Proposition) is what makes your brand identity truly unique. It means that you have something to offer that no other brand in the market has. This is what really attracts customers’ attention towards your brand.
A USP can be anything ranging from a unique quality product or service to unique return policy and so on. It’s up to you to decide what that unique sell will be. However, one thing to keep in mind is that your unique sell must be valuable to your target audience. In other words, it has to be something that they’ll find appealing enough to engage with your brand, as well as something that will ensure customer loyalty for years to come.
The fact of the matter is that the online market is highly competitive and oversaturated with various offers. Finding something that no one else has already offered can be quite a challenge. Nevertheless, a unique sell is simply a must. Otherwise, your brand won’t have the leverage or the advantage to convince consumers to buy from you. That’s why this part of your brand identity requires more attention and focus than other aspects of your brand.
Developing a unique brand identity can truly be a daunting task, especially in 2020. Times of uncertainty are never easy on business decisions and businesses, in general. However, no matter what the future holds, developing a brand with a unique brand identity is always a good step forward. After all, the crisis will eventually pass, and companies will continue to fiercely compete for the customers. You might as well create your competitive advantage sooner rather than later.
