4 Things You Need to Know to Brand Your Startup For Success

As a matter of procedure, as a startup founder, your average day will likely consist of focusing on tasks regarding your business like: accounting, inventory, legal, retail, staffing, product development, and most importantly—sales. 

And why wouldn’t that be the case? Those were certainly the main business components you were taught in class.

That’s not to say that marketing isn’t a prerequisite course for a business degree at most colleges, but let’s be honest here; is there anything that you could recall being taught in any marketing class  that focused on creating an ideal perception of your business by the public? 

My point exactly! 

So while a startup that provides its customers innovative products or services is a great thing to focus on; as the founders of startups like Myspace, Pandora, and Uber could attest, regardless of how innovative your products may be, it’s only a matter of time before a competitor comes along and duplicates it. 

Which is why great branding is the ultimate unfair advantage that a startup could have in order to stand out from the crowd enough to attain and sustain success. Here are four things you’ll need to know about branding for your startup to do just that. 

1. Specializing beats generalizing 

If you’re reading this, there’s a very good chance that you’ve driven by, looked up, and stared in awe at a particular sign/logo. And you certainly wouldn’t be alone in that regard. For decades, in utter incredulity, millions around the world have marveled at those world-famous golden arches which state, Over 1 billion served, right below them. 

There’s no question about it, any founder worth their salt would love to sell over one billion SKUs of their product like McDonald’s has done with their burgers.

But every brand cannot be McDonald’s. Nor should they try to be. McDonald’s is one of the extremely rare brands that has aimed to appeal to just about everyone—and has done so successfully!

For most brands, generalizing, by aiming to appeal to everyone, is an absolute recipe for disaster! Instead, give your brand the best chance to succeed by positioning your brand as a specialist that solves a particular problem for a particular group of people.

2. You only need one key benefit claim to differentiate

Speaking of McDonald’s, besides the obvious names of both brands and the items they offer, what could you point to that truly separates McDonald’s from a competitor like Burger King? Perhaps the first thing that comes to mind would likely be that Burger King flame broils their burgers, correct? 

In all actuality, that is all it takes to truly separate your brand from its competitors. You only need to have one key benefit claim (KBC) for customers to point to as a benefit to differentiate your brand from all others in its category. 

3. Your brand should have a worldview 

Have you ever sat back and pondered what would lead someone to become obsessively devoted to a brand? I’m talking about the kind of devotion that is so strong—it could inspire someone to get a tattoo of a brand’s logo on their body for the world to see? 

Well, the reason for that is simple: The brand had a unique worldview that a particular group of people could identify with emotionally. 

Apple has one. Harley-Davidson has one. Nike has one. And your brand should certainly have one as well. What is it that your brand stands for? What does your brand believe in? How would the world be better if your brand had its way? 

Only you have the answer to those questions. But whatever those answers are, be sure to constantly articulate and emphasize it to your audience. 

4. Your brand should be synonymous with a solution 

What is the very first thing that you think of whenever you hear the name Dr. Scholl’s? If I were to guess, the very first thing you’d think of would probably be foot care. Which would explain why each year, millions of people with foot issues turn to Dr. Scholl’s products first to help alleviate their problem.

That’s because throughout years of focused branding through their marketing communications, Dr. Scholl’s has successfully branded itself as the go-to brand for foot care. Simply put, the brand positioned itself to become synonymous with a particular solution for a particular group of people who have a particular problem. 

What burden or problem could your startup’s MVP help alleviate for a particular group of people? Once you identify whatever that is, highlight it in every phase of your marketing communications to position your startup as the go-to brand that consumers turn to when they need help solving that particular problem. 

In closing 

When it’s all said and done, at its core, branding is all about intentionally creating an ideal perception. Whether it’s of a person, place, or a thing; proper branding is one of the biggest factors that will determine whether the public will support it or not. 

If you’d like further help branding your startup, take the first step of becoming the next Decryption client by contacting us and let’s begin taking both your brand and business to the top!