3 Steps to Building Your Brand

Think building a corporate brand is as easy as designing a killer logo? Think again. Your brand is your company’s identity. Creating a distinctive brand is about defining who you are, what makes your business unique, and where you fit in the marketplace, as well as what you believe in, your mission and how you serve your customers.

The Rapunzel Creative team has helped develop brand identities for companies of all shapes and sizes over the years, and our process always starts with three key steps. Before you begin dreaming about graphics, fonts and website templates, take the time to ask – and answer – these questions:

Who are You?

Defining who your company is, your core purpose and exactly what it is you are selling is the essential first step in building a brand. Startups and successful businesses alike often try to be many things to many people. This can result in confusion for both your customers and your sales and marketing teams. Instead, focus on what you do best or what you offer that no one else does. Make sure it has real value. And go from there.

What is Your Value Proposition?

Your value proposition is the unique innovation, feature or service that makes a prospective customer choose your company over a competitor. Let’s say you are a financial advisory firm. Because there are literally millions of financial advisors, your brand needs to communicate what separates you and your team from everyone else. Perhaps your expertise is in $5 million+ portfolios or you specialize in overseas investments. Maybe you work solely in the area of trusts and estates. Your value proposition lets your customers know you understand their specific problems or challenges, and they can rely on you to help solve them. For some companies, this may be the speed of service, reliability or competitive pricing. For others, it could be size or longevity. The idea is to think about how you want your customers to feel when they work with you or purchase your product. What do you bring to the table that adds value to their lives?

Who are Your Competitors?

The third step in creating your brand is knowing your competition. Before the Rapunzel Creative branding team works with a client, we research the marketplace to get a clear picture of who they are competing against on a national and/or local level. Knowing who else is out there, what share of the market or industry they have, how they position themselves, and what their strengths and weaknesses are is critical to developing a distinctive brand. You may decide you want to go head-to-head with someone in the same sector, but before you take them on you will need to distinguish your business. You will be in a far stronger position once you work to establish a clear and compelling brand identity and carve out a particular market niche of your own.

Rapunzel Creative’s brand-building process is designed to help established companies, startups and nonprofits build a memorable brand identity that clearly represents their business – and drives sales. Call us today at 877-709-3456 or schedule a complimentary brand assessment.

About Rapunzel Creative

Rapunzel Creative is an award-winning branding, digital marketing, and advertising agency located in Bergen County, New Jersey, within the New York metro market. Services include business branding, website design, digital marketing (such as social media, SEO, and email marketing) and advertising campaigns. The agency also specializes in nonprofit marketing and branding. Rapunzel Creative is certified by the State of New Jersey as a (WBE) Women Business Enterprise, is a WBENC certified organization, and is a certified SBA and WOSB and approved contractor with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.