First Build Your Business and Then Your Brand

Today everyone seems to be obsessed with building a brand and if an expert tells them that you should first build your business and then your brand, they may be surprised with a thought that aren’t the two things same or to build a business they should first build a brand!

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The problem is that both these things are often confused. As a result, entrepreneurs chase their tail while trying to get a result that actually comes later in the process.

In entrepreneurship as well as in overall society, we always dream of one thing called ‘quick win’. When in interviews, successful entrepreneurs are asked 4-5 things that business owners should do to get success, successful business owners try to explain that their secret is hard work!

Busy Work

When business owners have no idea of what they should do or are depressed with a lack of success, they start busy work. This can be trying for SEO things to build traffic to their website or buying loads of Facebook ads or designing new logos and graphics or trying to build a new brand or a lot of other things.

The busy work gives you the satisfaction that you are doing something. It creates a hope in you that when you are done, there will be business coming to you. BrandQuest consultants warn that this is not actually a great strategy. It’s devoid of focus and success comes from a clear planning.

The busy work can even come when you may want to copy another entrepreneur who has got success with a certain thing. You naturally think that you too will get success from the same thing. Here, even though copying may give you a quick win momentarily, the results are not sustainable or better in the long run for your business.

People Want to Connect with Real People

If someone is advising you to use auto-responders or a virtual assistant to respond on your behalf, to show people how busy you are, consider it as a wrong brand strategy. The fact is that people want to connect with real people.

Referral marketing and relationship are two best tactics in the corporate branding strategy by BrandQuest to build your business and a loyal customer base. If people enter your ecosystem only to find that you are a million miles away, they won’t stay to know more about you.

If they feel that they can never approach you through all the filters, they will think several times about whether to do business with you or not. Building a business in the world of the internet and social media today is purely about getting connected.

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Building a Brand

Building of your brand starts with building your base. Here are a few important points to consider:

  • A Personal “About” Page: When your “About” page is in the third person, you miss an important point of connection. Your readers will assume that you’ve written it; so, it will seem senseless and silly that you are talking about yourself as a third person.
  • Interact to the Best Possible Extent: The more you will interact with your audience, the stronger your base will be. This is particularly true if you are a startup. One of the reasons of success of successful entrepreneurs is that they connect with their audience everyday and personally.
  • Find Exposure: A great way to build your business and your brand is to get exposure wherever possible. Maybe it is a large publication or a radio/podcast interview. Exposure builds real authority which sets a base for your brand.

Another thing to remember is that it’s easy to lie, but truth comes out always and that is harmful for the very foundation of your business. Follow these tips to build your business and then your brand.

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