Branding Your Business: Five steps to a better marketing strategy

Many new business owners believe the brand is the symbol representing the company. While this symbol is part of branding, your brand is more broadly defined as the promise you're making to your customer base. Not only does branding communicate what your customers should expect to receive in the exchange, it also differentiates what you sell from all of the other companies in your industry. The most critical part of your marketing strategy is branding your business. Here are 5 steps you must take to ensure your branding sets the right image to ensure it helps your marketing efforts.

#1: Start By Defining the Brand

If you didn't focus much on branding when you opened your doors, don't spend another day relying on a generic brand to generate new business. Your priority should now become defining your brand based on your mission, your vision, your values and the products or services that you offer. Take a step back to determine what makes you better than the competition. How can you communicate this? What do your customers have to say about your company?

If you really want to see what qualities your customers are associating with your brand, consider doing business with a customer feedback management company to find out what they have to say. By getting feedback on the channels like the ones seen at http://www.mshare.net/feedback-channels, you can base the definition of your brand based on what your customers want instead of what you think they want.

#2: Put Your Logo on Everything

One very important component of marketing is brand recognition. When your brand is recognized, you are building trust every time someone sees your logo. By placing your logo on everything from your signage to your brochures, you can build brand awareness and recognition.

#3: Use Your Tagline in Your Marketing Strategies

You'll need more than just a logo when you're branding your company. In fact, a memorable tagline is an effective way to keep your brand in the mind of prospects. Come up with a catchy and appropriate statement people can identify with, and be sure to use this cleverly in all of your marketing efforts.

#4: Be Consistent with Design

The design of your brochures, mailers and even your website are part of your branding as well. When you're ordering printing materials or designing your website, stick with designs and color schemes that blend. Consistency will help when you integrate your marketing tactics.

#5: Use Your Voice in Your Marketing

If you're a financial consultant, chances are you want to have an professional voice. If, however, you're selling trendy clothing, you may have a younger and informal tone. Be sure you consider the voice you want to reflect your brand, and keep this voice in mind whenever you're developing new campaigns.

The key to branding your company is doing your research. Stay true to your promise, consider what people want, and don't forget to be original. Define your company's values, develop a brand and integrate this brand with your marketing strategy if you want to succeed.