Building a Better Brand on a Budget

What is a brand? According to BusinessDictionary.com, brand means a “unique design, sign, symbol, words, or a combination of these, employed in creating an image that identifies a product and differentiates it from its competitors. Over time, this image becomes associated with a level of credibility, quality, and satisfaction in the consumer’s mind. Thus brands help harried consumers in [a] crowded and complex marketplace, by standing for certain benefits and value.”

My definition is a bit simpler and a lot broader: A brand is everything. It’s your logo, your website, your images, your content, your print materials, your customer service, your viewpoint, the way you dress, the way you explain what you do—and so much more.

If you plan to start a business or you already have one, to be successful you must have a brand. In this article, I share my top tips for building a strong brand on a shoestring budget.

What’s in a Brand?

When you think of Apple, your thoughts might go to Steve Jobs, in his black turtleneck and glasses. Did you know that at one point he was fired from his own company? You might remember how he was known for holding incredibly short meetings and dismissing the least necessary person in the room. And how he believed that a business should create a product that its customers don’t even know they want yet.

Steve Jobs was part of the Apple brand. And after his death, he still is.

So how do you infuse yourself into your brand, so that when people think of your company they immediately know what you offer and what you stand for?

Be Your Brand

Fashion designer Michael Kors, author and speaker Deepak Chopra and television personality Jillian Michaels are all entrepreneurs who have a large staff and a big revenue stream. Not only do their businesses carry their names, but they themselves are front and center of their companies. Whether they’re assisting behind the scenes at a fashion show or sharing the results of working with a client, these entrepreneurs know that our culture is voyeuristic. We like to see people create, and we like to see a struggle, followed by accomplishment. Kors, Chopra and Michaels have built businesses that thrive on this concept.

So how do you become your brand? First, know who your target audience is. Second, know what you want to project to them. Third, and most important, know how you can solve their problems and why you’re the right person for the job.

Once you have all that figured out, ask yourself if it makes more sense to use your name for your business (e.g., Tory Burch) or to use a fictitious name (e.g., 24 Hour Fitness®). It doesn’t matter how many services or products you have, or how many employees are working for you. What matters is the message you want associated with your business.

Your business should be easily recognizable on every platform you use. This means your social media handles should all be the same, and your profiles should explain what you do in an effective, simple and brief manner.

For example, if your business name is Jane Smith, your Twitter and Instagram handles should be @janesmith or @jane.smith, not @workoutgirl77 or @sculptedarms88. These latter two examples don’t say “brand”; they say “young person who doesn’t have a business.” Similarly, your description shouldn’t be “I like to work out” or “I’m a daydreamer.” It should explain exactly what you do and whom you do it for.

Changing Your Brand

Do you have an established brand, but worry that updating it might confuse your customers? First, don’t freak out. Second, keep it simple. Brands evolve, which means you don’t have to stay married to an idea or image that you created in your first year of business.

A great, recent example of how a company handled a brand change is video-streaming service Hulu’s decision to change the name of its paid subscription, Hulu Plus. Hulu is the name of the company, and Hulu Plus was the name of the paid service, which costs $8 per month and gives users access to Hulu’s entire content library. When Hulu decided to drop “Plus” from its name, I received the following email:

Ramona,

Your Friends at Hulu

My guess is that Hulu has more customers and brings in more revenue than most of our businesses combined. Yet the company didn’t feel the need to make a big fuss over the name change. Instead, it opted for a simple message that contained all the pertinent information in anticipation of any questions that subscribers might have.

For ways to develop a brand cheaply, please see
“How to Build a Better Brand on a Budget” in the online IDEA Library or in the February 2016 issue of IDEA Trainer Success. If you cannot access the full article and would like to, please contact the IDEA Inspired Service Team at (800) 999-4332, ext. 7.