When starting a business it can be a bit overwhelming, with all the things you need to do and pay for, there seems to be a cost around every corner. Though there are choice you can make or things you can do to reduce the costs you incur.
Brand Elements
If you’re doing it DIY, keep it simple. For your logo, choose a nice font (Dafont) you like rather than trying to go about designing or illustrating an icon. Better to air on the side of simplicity rather than going overboard and it not looking good. Using a simple and beautiful typeface and color scheme coupled with some nice photography and you’ll be rockin’ it out of the gate.
Customer Service
One of the simplest and often the most overlooked aspect of branding is customer service. From the onset you need to treat your customers/clients with respect and always bring you A-game. And, yes while you may not see immediate results, having stellar customer service will reward you. You’ll start to see referrals, get awesome testimonials, and you’ll have a high rate of return customer and/or lower churn rate.
Collaboration
As soon as you start building your business, collaboration needs to be key. Whether you sell physical products, coaching services or information products, working with the right people will not only save you time and money in building your tribe, collaboration can solidifying your brand’s messaging. Word of advice though, be sure to partner with business that will not only help you in the short term (think product promotion, etc) but they have similar philosophies and business morals as you do.
[bctt tweet="Collaborate with those who provide long term value with similar philosophies and morals #entrepreneur #branding"]
Work Your Network
Start sharing what you and your business is doing with those closest to you, friends and family. Shout it loud, shout it proud. Become familiar with what skills and services people in your network are offering. If you can’t afford paying for a lot of things out of the gate, look into if exchanging products or services is an option.
Branding Tips & Tricks
- Include your website and social media accounts in your email signature
- Use the back of your business card for your brand message. Offer something of value that brings people directly to your website.
- Set up a profile on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and/or Google+ to connect and engage. I use Hootsuite to manage my content distribution.
- Set up a Facebook business page to share industry trends, tips and ideas.
- Use Design Seeds to choose your brand colors
- Use your colors whenever/wherever possible – business cards, social media posts, product packaging, etc
- Purchase the url (domain) for your business’ name. Bluehost is a great provider if you need one..
- Use your outgoing voice mail as a branding opportunity.
- Stay in touch with your current and prospective clients with cards – birthday, holiday, anniversary etc. This is a nice touch in a world where everything is done electronically.
- Join in-person groups – networking, philanthropic, cultural etc. Find one that resonates with you and aim to attend two meetings every month.
- Develop a simple “Speaker’s Kit”, have it available for download on your website and send to event planners, associations, etc. Kit should include your bio, photo, one-pagers of talks, and testimonials.
- Create a valuable tool (checklist, training, video, ebook, mp3 interview, etc.) and give it away for free on your website.
