HOW TO CREATE A BRAND AND MAKE IT STAND OUT

Many entrepreneurs become confuse when you say the word brand. In some cases they even interchange it with marketing. Lets get it straight, marketing is the technique you use to acquire customers but branding is what draws them to you in the first place and keeps them coming back for more. Since we keep getting questions from readers on how to build a successful brand. We decided to take time and discuss about it.  Branding is a lot different and requires creativity and innovation in order to stand out. Here are some tips on how you can go about it;

1-Avoid using general names
The most common mistakes among many entrepreneurs and business owners is that they like to use a general name for their businesses or companies. Names like The Northerner Nigerian Limited or Ahmed Idris and Sons Nigeria Limited. Such names do not qualify for a brand. Most brand have a single name which is easy to pronounce and easy to remember e.g Dangote, BUA and Zinox.

2-Have specific products
Offering too many products or services weakens your brand name. Customers want to always associate something either a product or service to you. So its important not to offer too much at the same time, so the less you offer, the more you are remembered. Avoiding this mistake early on will allow you to concentrate on those key products and services and create the image and reputation you want.

3-Thinking of expanding? Launch it separately
Offering too much products and services isn’t necessarily a problem if you can keep up with the demand. There are so many big companies doing it. But offering too much under the same brand name is a mistake every single time. Its better to form a new company under the parent company with a new brand and launch it. Fortunately, if you’re thinking of starting a new brand, being a person is a lot better than being a faceless corporation.

4-Promote what you do, not what you are selling.
I see so many companies saying things like, “At our company, we offer unique offerings.” The problem with this strategy? No matter how hard you try to convince them, most customers won’t care about your “unique value proposition.” People don’t think in terms of products and services, they think in terms the what they want to get. So, instead of promoting what you sell, you should focus on what you help people accomplish. Specifically, that means the job that you help them do, something they wouldn’t be able to do by themselves.

5-Make peoples testimonials your selling point
Don't ever hire people to do testimonials. In fact it is a dangerous idea. Instead try to make your customers refer people back to you. Since they (customers) have had a taste of your products or service, who is better qualified to tell others about it? If you are not leveraging on this, its time you do because you will be amaze with the number of people trooping in just because someone mentioned your name at an event or a dinner.