Are you a budding or savvy entrepreneur, or you're gathering momentum to launch out your business company? I'm sure you'd probably have wondered: what can you do to differentiate your brand from an endlessly long list of ruthlessly competitive competitors?
The simple answer is branding.
Small business owners usually think only big companies like MTN, GLO, Dangote, Apple, Meta, Google, Coca-Cola etc are the only ones who need branding, but this is not true. Branding has nothing to do with how small or big your business company is. As long as you have a business, brand or company you run and manage, you need to brand your business.
Also, Whether you’re actively managing your company's identity or not, it exists. And your Brand's chances of coming out as the ideal choice to your customers depends solely on how strong and reliable your brand is.
Here's a shocker; Creating a logo and beautiful slogan for your website, social media accounts and even on samples of your products isn’t enough, it's just the beginning. To stand out as a Brand in the Competitive industry in Nigeria, you need to go beyond just your logo and slogan and include essential elements that define your business several years ahead.
Why is branding important for your business ?
Regardless of size or number of employees, business companies of all kinds need to invest in branding to stay relevant. If you don't know why you should brand your business, here are some benefits you stand to gain.
1. Branding brings distinction to your business from competitors
With the increasing number of companies and businesses delivering similar products in Nigeria, standing out amongst them can be challenging. This is why branding is important. Leveraging on your values, brand promise, story and other assets which provide avenues for you to show your uniqueness as a brand helps to create a point of difference could set you apart from your competitors. The quantity and quality of efforts put into branding your business simply shows your customers what differentiates you from other competitors.
2. Branding makes you more recognizable
Another benefit of branding your business in Nigeria is that it makes your brand more memorable. When your customers can identify and notice your company based on physical, visual, auditory elements, it breeds familiarity. Branding fosters trust, which 81% of customers rely on to make a buying decision. Brand recognition could also influence how customers remember and engage with your content, emails, or ads.
3. Branding builds customer loyalty
Have you ever noticed that big and powerful brands often have a loyal customer base? Yeah, but this does not happen by chance. It results from delivering unique experiences their audiences can relate with to form a bond. If you successfully establish this emotional connection, you’ll have more customers who will support your business and share their positive experiences. This advantage will bring repeated business patronage, less churn, and more referrals through word of mouth.
Brand your business in Nigeria in 7 steps
Branding your business has a lot to do with developing a consistent personality and style for your business. Here are ways to brand your business in Nigeria:
1. Define your brand identity.
Usually, your brand identity consists of the visible elements of your brand, such as color, design, logo and brand promises that identify and distinguish your brand in the minds of your consumers.
The first step in branding your business is to define who you are, what your business company is, what you offer or want to offer and who you want your customers to perceive you as. So before stating any other business branding strategies, you need to understand your brand identity.
Your brand is the unique image customers have of your business. It is therefore necessary to take the time out to define it thoughtfully, carefully and early, before the market does it for you. Consistent marketing and following up leads to consistent brand identity and, ultimately, consistent sales.
When this is in place, your company's image will be what you intend it to be.
Consider the qualities you’d love people to associate with your brand. Do you want to be seen as a brand that is visionary or competent? Pick these qualities and mirror your brand into them.
In defining your brand identity, you also have to clearly state your mission and vision. Why does your brand exist? Your mission should answer this question. In writing a powerful mission statement for your business, first describe the purpose of your business, then who your customers are, the products or services you render, and how you are doing it or intend to do it. Make sure this is memorable and unique.
2. Identify your audience
The second step for branding your business is to understand who your potential customers are. This is achievable by analyzing your current customer base. Existing customers are a goldmine of information as they know what is impressive or lacking in your brand. Take time to discover their interests and needs.
Identifying your customers will require you answers to questions like
What are your customers most pressing pain point? Which businesses do they trust and buy from?
What would they love to see in your brand?
You can choose to engage your customers directly through calls and surveys to find answers. Chances are, you’ll find common characteristics or patterns that’ll help you define your target audience.
3. Conduct market research
Market research will help you discover and track industry trends, available opportunities, customer preferences, purchasing habits, and conversations about your brand or others. It is also an effective way to collate information on your competitors, note who their customers are and their interests. You can use relevant online social media channels such as review sites, industry forums, or Q&A sites like Quora and Reddit to start your research.
4. Create your value proposition
Your value proposition is your brand promise. It is more than a tagline or a slogan.
Create a unique selling proposition which supplies answers to the questions gathered from your market research and customer relations. In brand value proposition, you have to communicate benefits to your customers, what you intend to deliver, and why they should choose you over competitors. Try to stick to the truth, don't propose things that are unnecessary and not achievable.
5. Create brand assets
The next step in branding your business in Nigeria is to choose the peculiar elements that will identify your business. Some examples are colors, fonts, packaging, slogan, and your logo. There are certain colors that evoke specific emotions and convey meanings. For example, color red boosts energy levels, yellow is optimism, and purple activates the imagination, etc.
Which ever logo, color scheme, and style you choose to brand your business, ensure that it is distinctive and easily recognizable. Talk with experts and your team and play around with logo makers (like Canva, for example) to get some ideas.
Brand Logo
A logo is necessary for both small businesses and large businesses. The popular MTN and Coca-Cola have their logo. So, also your business must have it's own unique design identity because your logo is probably the first thing your customers will see when they encounter your brand or see it from afar. Your logo must be professionally designed to spit out your brand representation and identity easily.
Brand color
Before designing, figure the best color that suits your business. MTN's color is yellow, GLO is green, WhatsApp is green. These colours make brands unique. Your brand colour is a great way to arrange your design information and ensure you, your designer, and anyone else working on your brand is on the same page with your brand's direction.
Brand website.
One of the valuable and necessary assets your brand should have is a website. Your brand's website makes your business known to the world by giving full details of what you offer as a brand. Your website will also have several contact options which will make it easy for people to reach out to you.
Your website, when optimised for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) can produce search engine results related to services you offer or goods you sell. This way, more customers will find you and patronize you
Digital and Traditional Advertisment
Online and physical advertising is the best way to bring your business to life and showcase it to the world. When you advertise through social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, other well-known websites, etc, your brand message will be conveyed to your audience in text, design, audio, and video. This advertising will not only bring more customers your way, it will also make your brand a household name.
6. Integrate them across your channels
After your branding elements are ready, you have to distribute them across your channels. For example, you can include assets such as your logo, brand colors, and fonts in all your messaging. Also, a more detailed version of your mission statement could be used on the About Us page of your website.
7. Be consistent
According to MarketingNutz, it takes up to 5-7 brand impressions before an individual can remember your brand. From the website to social media channels and offline interactions with customers, branding must be consistent. Create brand guidelines to reinforce cohesiveness.
