How to build a brand

Building your own brand essentially boils down to seven steps:

  1. Research your target audience and your competitors.
  2. Pick your focus and personality.
  3. Choose your business name.
  4. Write your slogan.
  5. Choose the look of your brand (colors and font).
  6. Design your logo.
  7. Apply your branding across your business.

1. Research your target audience and your competitors

Before you start making any decisions about your brand, you need to understand the current market, i.e., who your potential customers and current competitors are.

There are many ways to do this:

  • Google your product or service category and analyze the direct and indirect competitors that come up.
  • Check subreddits that relate to your customers and eavesdrop on their conversations and product recommendations.
  • Talk to people who are part of your target market and ask them what brands they buy from in your space.
  • Look at the relevant social media accounts or pages your target audience follows and are receptive to.
  • Go shopping online or offline and get a feel for how your customers would browse and buy products.

2. Pick your focus and personality

  1. Your brand can’t be everything to everyone, especially at the start.
  2. It’s important to find your focus and let that inform all the other parts of your brand as you build it.
  3. Here are some questions and branding exercises to get you thinking about the focus and tone of your brand.