How To Style Your Business For Success
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You have created the perfect business and you believe that you are on the cusp of something big. However, you are not alone. Approximately 543,000 businesses are started each month by enthusiastic entrepreneurs, but only 50% of these businesses will survive for 5 years. The others crash and burn. It is crucial that you make your business stand out from the sea of other businesses. How can you do this? Easy, you need to style your business because when it comes to your business – style is just as important as substance.
First Impressions Count
Before you do anything else you need to think about your brand. Your brand identity needs to be stylish and it needs to be distinctive. Now more than ever you need to make sure that you stand out from the crowd. Effective branding is what enables a company to not only survive, but also to thrive. According to Forbes magazine the top 4 characteristics of a successful brand are:
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Understanding your target audience
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Your brand needs to be unique
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You need passion if you are going to continue to grow your brand
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Consistency is very important for encouraging clients to come back to you.
Where Do You Start With Branding?
To make your branding pay off you will need to invest time and money. Where do you start? The whole process can seem really daunting. You don’t need to do this alone. You could hire a branding agency who will be able to help guide you through the process and help you develop the right brand for your business and budget. They will be able to develop a personalized strategy that takes your brand to the next level.
Your Brand Brief
You will want to develop a brand brief. Styling your brand should be about bringing together all the best bits of your business. You need to create a compelling look. You want to be telling a story to your clients. This is where I would suggest you create a mood board. If you are working with a branding agency then this will really help them as it will allow you to convey your vision for your brand. If you are working alone it will really help with your direction when planning. You can find some great examples of mood boards online which will give you ideas for what you should be looking for. You want to create a board that reflects the colors you like, patterns, illustrations, typography, and photos. Collect anything that shouts-out to you. You will then be able to use this board later to help inform and plan your brand. Your mood board will enable you to pull together all of the important brand elements. You will have your vision and therefore will be able to create your brand, style it and share it.
Styling your brand identity is an exciting journey. At times it will be challenging but those long hours and sleepless nights will all be worth it when you see the finished branding. This is a process that can not be rushed. Don’t be afraid to outsource as this will help free up more time for you. Remember – your branding is very important and the right branding will shout to everyone that you have arrived.
It’s time to start branding and you need to brand with a bang if you are to succeed.
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