8 Ways to Build a Software Startup Brand
Quick, do you know what the world’s most valuable brand is? According to Forbes, the answer to that is Apple. It surpassed fellow branding heavyweights Google, Amazon, and Microsoft by billions of dollars. With that bit of trivia out of the way, now the question we face is: what makes it different from other computer hardware companies? The answer is the power of branding. The corporate giant uses branding to showcase its divergence from rivals—classy and trendy packaging, state-of-the-art software system, and exceptional smartphone program. So, if you’re thinking about starting a business, particularly a software company, you have to include a branding strategy in the business plan. Thus, we offer eight effective ways of helping you build a software startup brand.
8 Ways to Build a Software Startup Brand
The Significance of Branding for Your Company
The practice of branding has long been included in the history of humankind. For example, in the 1500s, cattle owners marked their livestock with an original pattern that distinctly relates to them, thus avoiding the loss of their possessions. Similarly, today most companies have exclusive branding that connects to them alone and not other businesses. For instance, the American clothing company Gap has a recognizable branding strategy because of the actual gap between the letters. All in all, branding helps enterprises become noticeable among hundreds of competitors.
Building Your Software Startup Brand in Eight Steps
Almost anyone in the world can recognize the iconic five rings of the Olympics. Each hoop represents the five continents joining together to compete in the games—regardless of their differences in language, religion, ideas, and political upbringing. But what makes the event outstanding from other occasions? Well, the branding of the games. Olympics take on the challenge of convening thousands of athletes with various backgrounds in a venue where they compete for a gold medal and honor for their representative country. Although the branding changes with the host country, the message about peach, solidarity, equality, and fair play stays the same. Like how the Olympics brands itself as a prestigious event open for all countries, you have to make sure that the branding of your enterprise is unique from others. After all, branding focuses on how a firm becomes distinct from competitors in the industry. With that said, here are the eight things to remember when creating the branding of your software company.
Understand Your Clients
When branding your enterprise, the first thing to keep in mind is your audience. Will the target market understand the branding of the company? Can the branding idea persuade the selected audience to choose the software business rather than the competitor? Conduct market research on the preferences of potential clients and create marketing plans based on the results. The branding should be relevant to the company and relatable to the public.
Select the Right Logo
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF), a nonprofit organization focused on preserving nature and its inhabitants, has been around for many years. Since its conception, they used a giant panda as an emblem for its lifelong mission. The panda became the symbol for the organization because it was recognizable by all people, despite the language barrier. Hence, choosing the right logo for your software startup has an impact on the reception and understanding of the audiences. Like how naming the business matters, picking the perfect logo affects the overall picture of the enterprise.
Decide on the Branding Method
Sometimes, branding includes the process of storytelling. In general, you are delivering the message and intention of the company. And on the other hand, you want to show the viewers the authenticity of your enterprise by providing engaging material. So what can you do? In a way, you can give content to audiences that tackle the process of your software company and why you pursued the career. Some prefer crafting a timeline of events that lead to the success of the firm. However, ensure a hefty budget for the branding team.
Establish Your Brand Mission Statement
Mission statements contain the purpose of the company, what it stands for, and its goals as an entity. In some instances, mission statements encourage workers that the enterprise has a direction to follow. Consequently, establishing a brand mission statement becomes an excellent way of informing the management and the people about the company and the intention of its existence in the industry.
Provide an Identifiable Brand Concept or Idea
In connection with the previous sections, this part discusses how a distinguishable brand idea can make a big difference for your company. Let’s take Microsoft Corporation as an example. The technology company utilizes the simplest but the most brilliant design for their logo and branding. Since their operating system resembles a window, it has played a significant part in their branding. Sam Moreau, the former Design Head in Windows, mentioned that the idea of the window provides another perspective about computing and technology. From that, we can see how a unique plan can make the enterprise noticeable in the public eye.
Analyze Your Competitors Brands
Before starting to conceptualize the contents of your branding plan, first, you have to know the promotional techniques of competitors. Through this process, you can avoid following their method and style. Or, you can improve current plans to compete against them. As an illustration, if the competing business has poor customer service, you can make an advertisement about the training and professionalism of your employees. Draft a checklist as a tracking tool for the activities you need to complete when creating the marketing and branding plans.
Promote Your Business Through Social Media
In 2019, Statista reported that almost 80% of the U.S. population, an estimate of around 247 million Americans, had social media accounts. However, on a global scale, the approximation reaches three billion individuals. In this amount, you can have an audience that would become probable clients for the business. Promoting software products and services through social media will be a great step for the growth of the enterprise. Make sure you have an agreement or contract with the website to know the benefits of the deal.
Budget for Branding
Branding schemes and plans need enough resources. Without sufficient funding, all the ideas will come into waste. Or the company opts for a substitute concept that doesn’t meet the objectives of the firm. Therefore, allocating a budget for branding plans is crucial for the enterprise. Planners can calculate the possible expenses of the project, and you look for ways to raise an adequate budget if the accounting department projects low capital or savings.
The purpose of branding isn’t a foreign concept for most software-based entrepreneurs. Those unfamiliar with the term can learn about in just a few readings. However, employing those lessons will be the true challenge—down to choosing the right colors, phrases, people in the ads, music, and so much more. It’s the need to grow that ultimately pushes business owners to find ways to make their endeavors stand out from the crowd. With an acquired and intimate knowledge of branding, you can place yourself on the right path to succeed in making your software startup different from all the rest. So plan well and get creative.
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