Creating your brand

Your name, logo, slogan and how you sell your products or services all help to create the feeling customers get when they come across your business. Here are tips on how to build a strong brand.

Why brands are important

Many people mistakenly think a brand is the same as a logo. But it’s much more than that — it’s the way customers see, hear and feel about your business.

First impressions lead to customers making instant decisions about your business, like if they trust you or want to buy from you or not. So it’s important to get people to believe in your brand from the start. Creating personas — fictionalised profiles of key customer types — as you create your brand can help you find direction and make decisions.

A well-thought-out brand is useful for all businesses. For some the basics will be enough. But if your brand will help attract investors and/or big-ticket projects or clients, it can be worth getting branding advice in the earlier stages of planning your business.

Tips and advice on business planning

Building your website or online store

A brand is much more than just a logo.

The first step is to find the best name for your business. There are tips and tools to help you do this on Choosing a business name. Then you can move on to logos and slogans.

Logo

A standard logo is best. Use a professional designer, preferably under direction from you and a branding advisor, if you have one.

It should be:

• eye-catching
• memorable
• simple
• a clue to what you do
• versatile — it could be used for signage, stationary and advertising material.

How to start:

• Look for logos you like, both online and around you, and gather them in one place, eg on Pinterest or stick pictures on a wall.
• Note why you like each one.
• Sketch out ideas for your own logo — don’t worry if you can’t draw, these are just ideas.

Checklist of common IP assets

Slogan

A memorable phrase can be the ideal accompaniment to your logo and is another key part of your brand. Think about a famous brand — Nike, Tui beer — and chances are you’ll instantly hear the slogan that goes with it.

You’ll want your slogan to:

• be memorable
• be simple
• tell people what you do.

Start by writing down some ideas for slogans. Have fun with it, and include friends or business partners. Take the list and discard the ones you don’t like or aren’t suitable. Do any of the remaining slogans hit the right note?

It’s not an exact science, but creating a great slogan that reflects your brand is a skill. Think about getting a branding expert to help you do this.

Think about how customers might respond to your logo and slogan.

Keep your personas - fictional profiles of the types of people most likely to buy your products or services - front of mind.

Identify key customers to create personas

Your brand should reflect your market position and what you know about your customers. This applies to your logo, slogan and other branding assets, eg flyers, website and business cards.

Think about who is most likely to benefit from your products or services, and turn these fictional customers into personas. This involves creating a profile for each persona, including:

• what they are like, eg name, age, personality, work/life pattern
• what might they think about your product or service
• problems your product or service aims to solve
• how and where you might best attract their interest.

How to create buyer personas(external link) — digital marketing consultants FIRST

Fair returns and complaints policies show you offer good customer service.

Use our refund policy sign and complaints process checklist and so everyone knows how complaints will be handled.

Fair returns and complaints: Useful templates