Branding is about constantly analysing, choosing, and strategically affirming your narrative.

Bongani Prince Chikweba - Media Consultant

KNOW WHO YOU ARE

Knowing yourself as an individual and business owner is key to building a brand, as it helps you identify the ways that your involvement in the brand-making process affects your business. Will you be able to handle everything, or will you need help? Will your business impersonate you or will it operate as a standalone project? Are you a good salesperson? Invest time into knowing yourself as your journey into the business world.

KNOW YOUR BUSINESS

If you cannot define what your business is about in one minute or in no more than five sentences, then you don’t know your business enough to try and sell it to anyone. Who is your product or service for? Why are you in business? These are some of the questions you need to know the answers to as you conceptualize your business.

KNOW YOUR TARGET MARKET

To win your target market over, you need to speak to them in a language that they understand – particularly, one that moves them. To do this, you need to understand your target market. Understand their ages, geographical location, buying patterns, triggers, gender and everything there is to know. You can not sell to someone you don’t know or understand.

SET DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS

Distribution Channels are the avenues that your customers (even potential ones) will use to know more about your business and possibly make purchases. Will you use a website, social media, or a physical store? It is possible to have various distribution channels. Just make sure they add value to you and your business.

KNOW YOUR GOALS

Why are you really building a brand? How long will your branding strategy run for, and on which distribution channels? How will you know you have reached your goals? How many people do you want to reach and by what time frame? What will you be able to invest in your branding strategy before your business starts running at a loss (think finance, time, energy, resources, etc.)?

TAILOR YOUR MESSAGING

Having understood your target market and determined your distribution channel(s), now you have to ensure that your messages are tailored for both your target market and the channels that you choose to use. What does your client want to hear? How can you shape your message to fit the distribution channel you are using without losing your target market?

SET DEADLINES

As stated in the fifth point, it is important to set deadlines. These will help monitor the strategies you are using and gauge whether or not they work for your business, products or services. How long will your branding strategy run for? What key components will it consist of? What results do you expect to see after the branding strategy or campaign is done?

REPEAT

Branding is an act of repetition. What is repeated consistently and strategically is what sticks in the mind of the consumer. With that in mind, remain consistent with the components of your branding, such as the messaging, tone, colours, distribution channels, etc.

MONITOR AND EVALUATE

This is where you gauge whether or not the branding methods you are using are actually working or not. It is okay to change direction as you brand. Branding is about testing what works with your business and audience. Employ the right resources and tools to help you get the best results as you keep yourself updated with your business’ branding progress.

MAKE ROOM FOR EXPLORATION

There are no mistakes in branding, just wrong turns. Expect to take plenty of wrong turns on your branding journey and be ready and open-minded enough to make changes where necessary. Change and explore as much as you need to until you find what works.