If Your Business Brand Is All About You ...Then You're Doing It Wrong

So many new entrepreneurs get lost in creating the perfect brand identity for their business, putting too much money and thought into how a logo or website should look, but not thinking about what impact that logo or website will have on their audience. 

This branding exercise should help you quickly create a solid business identity that is affordable, professional, and one that gets people to take action. That's your measure for marketing, does it call people to action? How many of them? And are they the right people getting into action?

The first step in creating a brand is to determine your business landscape. What is your industry? What other businesses share your industry and how do they present themselves on the web? With their logo? Through their content?

Find a few websites that match, as closely as possible, your own business. These will serve as a model for you to follow and to differentiate yourself from.

Next, you want to get a full picture of your core audience. Who are they and what are their interests, both in general and those interests your business will address. Are they professionals, consumers, or both? Are they looking for information or are they looking to buy?

Now we get into the ways you serve your audience:

What is the common desire that brings your audience to you? Then find out what is blocking them from reaching that desire now. Finally, what is your solution for them? 

So now we can simplify this into a simple fill in the blank puzzle:

1. Who is the audience?
2. What do the want?
3. What is blocking them?
4. How will you fix the problem?

Answer these four questions, and you will have the foundation of your business brand.