Key Ways Entrepreneurs Can Brand Their Business Idea Today

For the  27 million Americans starting their own business, protecting your ideas is important in ensuring the sustainability and feasibility of your initial business strategy. Branding is not just about creating an impression on your customers; it increases your business value and can help you differentiate your business idea from millions of competitors.  As a new young entrepreneur, getting your business off the ground successfully should also include taking steps to protect your business assets, including building and safeguarding your business idea.

The  company naming and logo design process will give new businesses credibility and a solid brand identity. This means it increases the likelihood of customers easily identifying your product or idea on the market out of a range of similar competitors. A well-designed business name and logo can also help you to differentiate your business idea. With over  540, 000 new businesses launched each month, this is a well-needed tactic to help you stand out. When choosing a business brand name, consider your brand’s purpose, branding criteria, and naming strategy such as using a coined name or descriptive evocation. Once you have decided on a business name, it is also recommended that you take the additional step to get it registered by filing a DBA, greetings an LLC, or registering your trademark.

When designing your business logo, use competing companies and industry trends for inspiration. You should also be clear on what your brand identity is since your logo is meant to communicate your brand’s persona. What sets your idea apart from the others? Why did you start this business? How would you like customers to describe or identify your brand? Working with a professional graphics designer also helps since they can offer useful advice on color schemes or  trending logo design styles to keep your brand current.

Defining your business voice adds another dimension of branding alongside your business logo and name. However, it is important that you not only establish your brand’s voice but that it is consistent across all platforms to provide a unified and powerful business image in the minds of your customers. To start with, the Content Marketing Institute recommends describing your brand in 3 words. Entrepreneurs can also use their brand beliefs as their guiding principles. What qualities do you want your business to be associated with? Market research will also help you narrow down the qualities consumers are looking for. For instance, Sprout Social’s Q2 2017 Index showed the most sought after behavior for brands was honesty followed by friendliness.

Finally, take your business branding further with the creation of branding templates such as color scheme and standardized layout for all business communications like emails, customer letters, business cards, and even your social media posts. You can opt to use pre-made branding template mockups offered by creative websites online, or work with a designer to create unique design templates.

When choosing important elements of your branding template like your color scheme, keep it consistent both offline and online. Consistent branding can increase business revenues by 23 percent, says Forbes Magazine. You also want to be careful not to choose too many brand colors to avoid confusion. If done right, adding a color palette to your brand can increase brand recognition by up to 80 percent.

Entrepreneurs can also harness the power of social media to build their brand by  coining brand hashtags to increase brand visibility. Social media hashtag marketing campaigns are easily accessible to brands of any magnitude and affordable (sometimes even free). Stick to short, detailed, and memorable hashtags to maximize the branding impact.

With the entrepreneurial landscape being so competitive, you must make your business idea your own from the start. The right business branding ideas, like those above, can help you do this.