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Every branding decision you will make has to come from your mission and the vision you defined for your business. Your mission statement is the foundation of your business and therefore, of your brand. What is it? It is one or two sentences that sum up what your business is all about and what you are ultimately trying to achieve through it.
Eg.: “Bergolat is a home-based business selling handmade stuffed toys for adventurous little boys”.
If you’re not clear on what exactly your business mission is, creating a good brand can be tricky. Every good brand starts with a clear and strong mission statement and then communicate it to an audience.
Related: How to craft a powerful mission statement for your creative biz” and the”: Get Brand Clarity workbook” available in the resource library.
The second most important thing is knowing exactly who your target market is. I can not emphasize this enough. It’s tempting to build a brand around yourself and your personality. In some cases, like for coaches or personal trainers, it’s actually exactly what you should do. But not if you plan on launching an online shop. Of course your personality has to be a part of it, especially if you sell handmade products. But that’s not what will make a good brand. Your brand is more about your customers than it is about you.
If you want to attract visitors to your shop that are likely to buy from you, and turn them into fans so they come back and buy again, you have to know exactly who these people are. You have to define with as much detail as you possibly can who your ideal customer is.
It’s the only way you’ll be able to tailor a brand and a message that appeals directly to them.
Related: How to define your ideal customer profile (blog + free workbook)
Ideally, you want to to create a brand that is simple enough to be easily recognizable but that has a “twist” to it. Something that will differentiate it from the competition.
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, but you do have to ask yourself: How are my products going to stand out? How will people remember my brand VS my competitor’s?
This could be done with your products directly (like this shop that sells candles that have a hidden ring in them) or with a specific tone of voice and special set of values (like in this amazing commercial where they’re not scared of using the po*p word).
Finally, a good brand is consistent. All your visuals, banners, social media accounts, packaging and anything else that your customer might stumble upon on his/her journey from the moment they discover your products to the moment they click the “buy” button needs to be streamlined.
Having a consistent brand makes it easily recognizable, and will help you build trust with your customers.
Once you have these 4 elements nailed down, you can start thinking about the actual elements that will make up your brand (like your fonts, colors, imagery, logo, etc.).
But first, take the time to really think about your target customers, your market and your unique twist. By really I mean that reading this blog and thinking to yourself “yeah I know who my potential customers are” is not enough. You have to set some time to do some research and write everything down, so you can come back to it later when needed. Take it seriously once, and you will never have to think about it again. You can rest assured that your business and your brand are based on solid foundations.
In the resource library, you will find a workbook to help you define your mission statement and another to create your ideal customer profile, go get them! Once you’re done, download the “brand assessment” checklist from the same library, and you’ll be ready to get started on creating a kickass brand for your online shop!
If at any stage of the process, you feel like you need some help, leave a comment below, I am always happy to help!
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