If time and money were infinite, there would never be any need for planning.
And these are two critical resources that bootstrapped startups always find themselves lacking. And which is also
why, brand building is always kept on back burner.
As I have discussed the need for startups to focus on brand building from Day 1, if there was a right moment to
embark on a brand building journey, that moment would be NOW.
So, if you are a startup founder, just embarking on your entrepreneurial journey, here are a few
quick tips for you to get started on your brand building efforts:
- Focus on what defines you and what fuelled your dive into the entrepreneurial journey. As
a startup founder, identifying and defining your purpose (a.k.a. your brand’s purpose) will
keep you focused and aligned all through your brand building journey. - Define your core target audience; one luxury that bootstrapped founders will never have
it to talk to anyone and everyone. Amongst the entire universe, who do you think connects
with your brand purpose the most, whose need do you think are you serving the most, who
do think will be the most vocal about their experience with your brand, whose opinions
would influence your larger target universe? - Stick to the basics of brand identity. At the initial stages, think about an enduring brand
name, a well designed logo and a tone and a persona that you think your brand exudes. In
most cases, your tone and personality will evolve into that of your brand’s. While think
brand name, don’t think short term; take into consideration your business’ journey for at
least the next 5 to 7 years. - Build a simple website (Yes, that is something which you cannot miss out on in today’s
age.) that answers simple but pertinent questions such as who are you, what does your
brand stand for (purpose), what do you offer, how is it better than competition, how much
does it cost and why should they buy from you? If possible, considering that you seek
investors soon, add a section on why should any investor invest in your startup? - Embrace the infinite potential of social media. Yes, there are more than a dozen social
media platforms, but you don’t have to be present on all. Be present where you think you
will have the most relevant and engaging conversations with your core audience. For a B2B
brand, LinkedIn could be the one, while for a D2C lifestyle brand, Instagram makes most
sense.
o Always focus on conversations, and not just posting content.
o Look for what your audience would want to know from you, than what you want to tell
them.
o Share stories about your product, feel free to give them a sneak peak into your
product development, market expansion, customer acquisition etc.
o Make sure, you answer your audience’s queries, all of them if possible. It builds trust
and credibility.
o As a founder, participate in conversations, discussions or forums that revolve around
your product, brand or target audience. Be the voice for your brand.
o Always look out for developments and stories that resonate with your brand and
participate in it or post about it. There is more power in moment marketing than you
could imagine.
o Initiate conversations that your audience would love to participate in – quizzes, polls, contests, suggestions etc. - Start a blog and host it on your brand’s website: Blogs are an excellent medium to tell
your audience about yourself, your journey, your product and solutions, behind the scenes,
your culture, industry opinions and thought leadership and solving for challenges that you
believe your audience is searching answers for. - Start a newsletter: that captures the key developments of the industry you belong to, gives
a sneak peak into your organization, and discusses topics and subjects that your audience
values. Don’t go full throttle right from Day 1, but instead let the newsletter evolve and
alongside, grow your readership. Stick to the basics, keep the design simple, focus on an
engaging narrative and over a period, carve a niche in terms of the content and the
personality of your newsletter. Initially, depend on your immediate team and social media to
drive subscriptions. - Don’t lose any opportunity to show your face a.k.a. the face of your brand : Remember,
you are not just the founder, but you are also your brand’s influencer, celebrity endorser and
your brand’s biggest fan. Attend conferences and summits that revolve around your
industry and find speaking or discussion opportunities. Connect and increase your network,
and drive conversations both in person and through social media and subscriptions. Work
closely with industry bodies and policy makes and build relationships and thought
leadership. - Nurture partnerships : Find impactful partners and stakeholders who could catalyze your
brand building journey. Your partners could be a fellow startup that shares the same
purpose and vision as yours, a customer who believes in your product & solutions, a
promising channel partner who is influential in a specific geography, or even an industry
body whom you are working with on policy related matters. - Launch a podcast – a free and a potent channel to reach the masses, specifically your
target demographic. While you may want to think of a podcast channel for your brand, there
are umpteen guest speaker opportunities available with leading podcasters. Choose
channels and conversations that revolve around your brand’s purpose and vision, interests
that your target audience follows, broader industry relevant subjects or just an opportunity
to strike a conversation with a leading podcast channel. - Never negate the power of PR. Amidst bootstrapped times, earned media could be a
saviour. Search for journalists who regularly write or speak about your industry and
category, connect and engage with them. Nurture conversations that will gradually lead to
an association and later a recall for your brand. Never miss out on developments around
the industry that are relevant to your brand or could give you a voice and if possible,
FaceTime. - Ride on your customer experience stories, feedback and suggestions. These are free
and priceless. Give air to customers who have loved your product and amplify their stories
and experiences. Give an ear to a customer who wasn’t too delighted and show a small
gesture to show you heard and you care. For disgruntled customers, listen to them and try
to solve their challenges, without looking for immediate impacts on business. A free product
replacement could cost you money, but the stories and conversations around that event
could drive much more business growth. - Keep an eye and an ear on public forums where your target audience comes to discuss
their problems. Don’t simply look for people who problems your product could solve but
engage in conversations that could introduce and position your brand in a potent manner.
These may not capture all the promising avenues that could enable and catalyse your brand
building journey, but these are sure to get you embarked.
At this point, let me clear the air around a looming misconception around brand building. Most
startup founders enamoured by successful campaigns and advertisements have come to believe
that brand building is a luxury to be enjoyed only after you have earned some corpus, either
through organic business or through investors and VCs. But the fact is, brand building at its core is
purely about being transparent about your brand’s purpose of existence, delivering to your
promise every time, being empathetic towards your audience, and being authentic about who you
are and what you stand for.
Everything else, is simply a manifestation of the above. I will be glad to connect with you to know
more about your entrepreneurial journey so far and to catalyse your brand building journey to
eventually bring your vision to fruition.
