Branding Tips and Tricks To Learn From The Best

Starting your own business has never been as easy as it is today. Thanks to the internet, you can find suppliers and manufacturers in one part of the world and sell your products to customers in another. There are even countless guides on how to do it. With a bit (or a lot) of work, you can build a sizable business empire from your spare room, using just a laptop and an internet connection.

In the United States, the number of small businesses that employ other people has risen from 4.9 million in 1988 to 5.9 million in 2017, an increase of 20% over three decades.

While this is impressive on its own, there is another statistic that is a testament to how much easier it is to open a business today. In 1992, there were around 14 million small businesses in the US that did not employ anyone other than the owner. This figure shot up after the early 2000s as the internet made it easier to run a business, reaching 25.7 million in 2017, almost twice as much as it was in 1992.

Of course, there are few people who would argue that making it easier for entrepreneurs, freelancers, and “mom and pop” operators from starting a business is a bad thing, it does come with its downsides.

The biggest of these is the fact that if it’s easier for you to start a business, it’s also easier for your potential competition. The low barriers to entry that have been facilitated by the internet have meant that it is more difficult than ever to stand out.

That’s why branding has never been as it is today. So if you’re thinking of starting your own business or you already did, you may want to think about learning some branding tips from some of the biggest and best names on the market today.

Be Authentic

While you’re likely very passionate about your business, the chances are, other people don’t care one bit. You can’t blame them for that, they get bombarded with thousands of marketing messages every day, so tend to be apathetic to anything that doesn’t resonate with them.

The reason why many people struggle to create a message that resonates is that they focus on “what they do” and “how they do it”. In a famous 2009 TEDx video, Simon Sinek, argues that focusing on “why” in your marketing is a great way to demonstrate your authenticity.

He went further, saying that you should focus on employing people that believe the same things you do as this will be reflected in the company culture and the products you produce.

We can see this with Apple. It is a company that has created some of the most loyal customers you could ever hope for, with many willing to stand in line for days to get their hands on the latest releases.

It has done this by creating a brand that is authentic. Its mission vision statement is “we believe that we are on the face of the earth to make great products”, while its mission statement is to bring “the best user experience to its customers through innovative hardware, software, and services.”

Billions of people see this and believe it to be authentic. It’s reflected in the company’s culture and it can be seen from the thought and attention that is paid to product design.

Using Colour to Differentiate Between Products

After you’ve spent a long time building up a reputation for doing one thing really well, it can be tricky to add a different product that’s aimed at a different type of customer while still harnessing the power of your brand. Thankfully, there is one tried and trusted way to do this.

When you offer several different product ranges, you can distinguish between them by using colors and other effects, while still retaining continuity across your entire brand.

For example, 888casino uses the main 888 logo with a green color scheme that is carried on across its website. The other parts of the business use blue and orange to help customers to distinguish them from one another.

Coca-Cola does something similar with its bottles and cans, with its original recipe drinks colored red, its "Diet" or "Light" range in silver, and Zero in black. Regardless of color, the smaller bottles use the same trademarked bottle shape and the logos remain the same.

Don’t Be Afraid to Get Edgy

People are generally put off by corporate speak. It’s dry, it’s boring, and it’s often meaningless. How many times have you heard businesses refer to “synergy”, “bleeding edge”, and “leverage”, only to be left confused as to what they were actually trying to say? Chances are, it’s a lot.

Businesses like corporate-speak for two main reasons. Firstly, it’s safe, and anyone concerned about their job is likely to want to shy away from risks. Secondly, many people have the misconception that using big buzzwords makes them sound more authoritative and professional.

But by being a little edgier, you can make people take note. Richard Branson’s Virgin is a great example of this. All of the companies he’s involved in are all branded with the Virgin name and logo, and although everyone is accepting of it today, his choice of brand name caused quite the stir in the early days.

More recently, Dollar Shave Club created a viral campaign that used humor to be edgy. It was competing against industry giants like Gillette, so needed to take a different approach. Its founder, Michael Dublin, appeared in an open and honest ad that looked cheap, featured expletives, and made joke after joke.

For example, Dublin says “do you like spending $20 a month on brand name razors? 19 go to Roger Feder. I’m good at tennis.” He then swung a tennis racket, completely missing the ball that was thrown at him.

By being edgy and making people laugh, Dollar Shave Club got millions of dollars’ worth of free promotion as people shared the ad among their friends. The humor and unorthodoxy made it memorable, drove home the message that they offered quality at an affordable price, and created a new market for subscription boxes.

Whatever your business, the way you position your brand matters. Sure, the bigger companies will always have more resources to spend on it, but as Dollar Shave Club has proved, you can still stand out on a budget.