Launching a new brand in 2013 is a challenging prospect. In certain sectors it is claimed that as many as 9 out of 10 startups fail – a frightening statistic to say the least.
But hey, I’ve always been a glass half full kind of guy, so let’s look at it another way – that means that 10% of new businesses succeed! So, the question is what can you do to make sure your brand is among the success stories? Well, I have used my experience in starting new Companies (online and offline) to put together these 11 tips for launching a new brand in 2013.
Before the first tip, I have a piece of bonus advice, which I have found to be one of the most important things in business. Never stop learning and never think you know it all – every day is a school day as they say. I believe these tips will help you, but this is not an exhaustive list so please feel free to add your own advice to help fellow entrepreneurs in the comments box below the article.
1. Know Your Market and Competition
It might be boring, but you simply have to do your research. Fail to prepare… you know the rest! Identify your competition and look carefully at what they are doing well, where you believe them to be weak and what aspects of their service or product can be improved upon.
Don’t just copy what is already out there though – find your own point of difference and USP. Unless you have something revolutionary you are going to be taking business from elsewhere, so make sure people have a reason to defect and come across to your brand.
Collect as much information as you can on the size of the market, the margins, the trends, the problem areas etc and download the accounts of your competitors (£1 from Companies House in the UK) to see if they are actually making any money.
Arming yourself with this knowledge will also help when approaching banks, or investors if you have a requirement to raise capitol, which most new brands do – either for start up or expansion.
2. Have A Strong Brand Identity
Where does this start? Well, a good logo can make your brand instantly recognizable and the simpler the better – the Nike swoosh, the Facebook F, the MacDonald’s M and the apple em… apple are all examples of great simplistic design that most 5 year olds will be able to point out.
Alternatively, some of the best and most recognized brands are just the name of the brand in a clear font – Google, eBay, Sony. Less is more, don’t clutter up your logo!
And once you have your logo, use it everywhere. Letterhead, website, social media profiles, business cards, emails, faxes (if anyone still sends them!) advertising. Get it out there and into people’s consciousness. There is one exception to this, which I will discuss later.
Think about developing a corporate colour scheme – i.e. Easyjet orange, Facebook blue etc. This is another simple visual way of putting a strong identity on your brand.
Beyond visual branding think about what it is that makes your brand (and Company) who you are and develop a strong mission statement. Make sure all employees are well versed in this and that everyone in the Company is singing from the same hymn sheet and stays true to the principals of your business. If this can be condensed into a short, memorable slogan to use in your branding, even better: -
A bit of a fun before you read on… can you name the brand from the slogans below, I bet you can!
Just Do It
I’m loving it
Melts in your mouth, not in your hands
The best a man can get
It’s the real thing
3. Network, Network, Network!
When launching a new brand you will need all the help you can get. Leverage existing contacts, ask them to help spread the word or promote your brand and seek out new contacts who can help you.
Always have your business card to hand and do as many favours as you can for others – you scratch my back…
Not on linkedin? You better set up a profile then and get building your nextwork!
4. Work Alongside An Established Brand
Joint promotions with established (non competing) brands can be a great way to get your brand out there.
A personal example was when I was Marketing Director of a brand new salon business and arranged for a joint competition with the popular clothing retailer Matalan. The competition was featured in National Press (which would have been hard to achieve without the leverage of the Matalan brand) and was great exposure for our new Company.
Having your brand appear alongside an established brand is a great way of building trust in potential consumers, which is essential in the early stages.
5. Be Cool
If you have seen The Social Network, the oscar nominated film about the beginnings of facebook, you will know that a key point that kept being repeated by Mark Zuckerberg (at least in his film portrayal) was ‘it has to be cool’. So, how can a brand be cool?
Well, these days it’s all about seen to be engaging directly with your customers and the way to do this is undoubtedly social media. Social media strategy is a subject for a whole different article, but suffice to say you need to have one and it doesn’t involve blasting as many status updates on facebook as you can a day. That is a surefire way to get people to switch off from your brand!
When promoting your brand on social media, make sure you are offering something (preferably for nothing, like a give away) and not just blasting your brand in people’s faces. Social media promotion is the exception to the rule of brand promotion I mentioned above.
And the holy grail… if you can get a video to viral on youtube, expect a flood of traffic to your website and buzz about your cool new brand.
6. Get Celebrity Endorsement For Your Brand
In today’s celebrity obsessed world, getting the right superstar to be seen (and hopefully photographed) using your product can be worth more than any multi-million pound television ` campaign.
People want to emulate their heroes and will spend big bucks to do so.
One brand who used celebrity endorsement to launch with huge success in the UK was hair care brand ghd. Launched at the turn of the millenium, the founders of the brand worked with their PR company to get their irons into the hands of celebs such as Jennifer Aniston, Victoria Beckham and Gwyneth Paltrow and soon created a buzz which caused them to sell like hotcakes. So much so in fact, that by their first Christmas they were sold out and legend has it that customers were banging on the ghd warehouse doors and offering bribes to security guards just to get hold of an iron!
7. Invest In A Good Website
Do not skimp on the quality of your website. The first thing anyone will do when they hear about your brand is look you up online, so make sure your website is clean, fast, easy to use and gives a strong impression of your brand and identity.
Your website is your shop window, so make sure it looks amazing.
Actually, point 7 – should read invest in an good amazing website.
8. Learn To Say No
When you are launching a new brand it is easy to overspend on advertising and take up any opportunity that comes your way. You’ve probably had the phone call from that magazine, or newspaper: -
‘it’s such a good opportunity and I just don’t want you guys to miss it’
Before you know it you’ve blasted through your budget (and more) and actually haven’t got much to show for it, except the vanity of seeing your logo in the local rag.
Set a budget for marketing your brand, identify key areas where you want to spend it for strategic reasons and stick to it. Unless a genuinely amazing offer does come your way (and don’t judge by how excited the sales person sounds on the phone) just say no to everything else. Better still, leave a space in your budget for any such opportunities.
9. Learn To Trust Your Employees
No matter how hard you work, and how many hours you put in, as your brand grows you will quickly find that you can’t do it all. We all have our skills and our weaknesses so, although you may see it as your baby, at some point you will have to trust others with your favourite child.
I have made the mistake in the past of trying to take on too much and all that ends up happening is that you spread yourself too thin and end up making mistakes (more on this in a second), or quality suffers.
At the early stages you will probably be recruiting people directly, so trust them – after all you chose them for a reason! I’ll say it again – you can’t do it all.
10. You Will Make Mistakes
No matter how hard you plan, you are only human and will inevitably make some mistakes (probably lots!) along the way. Don’t beat yourself up about them, learn from them and make sure you don’t make the same ones again.
Remember also that most businesses make a loss in their first year and indeed many don’t break into profit until their third year. A good saying in business is that your first loss is your best loss.
11. Live and Love Your Brand
And the final piece of advice for launching a new brand, is simply to love your brand and what you do. Your passion will shine through and rub off on your employees and your potential customers or clients.
If you don’t love it, it’s time to find another idea!
So, that’s 11 tips for successfully launching a new brand in 2013. Times are tough at the moment, but there are still success stories and with the right product, strategy and focus your fledgling brand could be the next big thing.
Let me know what you think of my advice, or share some tips of your own by leaving a comment below and most importantly… good luck!
About The Author: David McSweeney is a 32 year old entrepreneur from Glasgow, Scotland. Over the years, David has founded several successful brands, including a salon and internet retail business which grew from startup to an annual turnover of over £2M in a period of 5 years. He currently operates a number of successful websites, including ghdcompare.com – a price comparison and review site for ghd straighteners. You can follow David on Twitter @thindenim
Featured images:
Article Image 1 License: Creative Commons image source
Article Image 2 License: Creative Commons image source
Article Image 3 License: Creative Commons image source
Article Image 4 License: Creative Commons image source
Article Image 5 License: Creative Commons image source
Article Image 6 License: Creative Commons image source
Article Image 7 License: Creative Commons image source
–
Written by ,
The post 11 Tips For Successfully Launching A New Brand appeared first on SOHO Business Group.