As a new startup, you have a vision. But executing that vision may be a bit tricky. When starting a new venture, you need to build strategic plan to stay ahead of the curve for years to come.

There may be many companies doing the exact same thing as you, thus you need to make sure your brand stands out and is top-of-mind at all times.

This may be a daunting factor when starting a new business, as building a brand from scratch may prove to be time-consuming and you may feel the pressure from your competitors. But the need to innovate can build a business’ strengths, as you start to exceed expectations and redefine your industry.

By introducing creative and aggressive marketing strategies, you will be able to create a brand that has a strong visual language. So, how exactly can you create a brand that sticks?

Who is your potential audience?

This is possibly the first thing you need to ask yourself when defining your brand and your brand’s purpose. By knowing your potential target audience/customer, you will be able to define your slogan, logo, and all marketing assets more accurately. Your authenticity will be` defined by your audience, thus you need to address them, and only them!

Remember that a satisfied client is the best business strategy of all. “Don’t define customers for your products, find products for your customers.” – Seth Godin.

Don’t be afraid to challenge the industry

Having the ability to be aware of fears and conquer them is the only path to becoming a successful entrepreneur.

Don’t be afraid to make the push and attempt to overtake the industry leader. The fact that you are striving to grow past them, is motivation enough to remain confident about your product/service. If you believe in yourself and your marketing efforts, you will find customers will believe in it too.

By sticking to your guns, the top dogs will have no reason other than to keep an eye on your business. Yes, this may be daunting, however, if your brand is being compared to the best in the industry, what better an achievement?

As Steve Jobs noted, “You can’t look at the competition and say you’re going to do it better. You have to look at the competition and say you’re going to do it differently.”

What do you do better than the rest?

As a young startup, you need to define what it is that you offer that is making you outshine your competitors. Once you have figured out what that is, you need to use that to your advantage. Remember that you are building a business for the future, thus you need to not just think about your present customers, but try and build for your customers to come.

If you don’t have a competitive advantage, then you shouldn’t compete.

The three key areas you can focus on when defining the advantages you have over your competitors are quality, price and service.

You can choose to beat the competition by offering a superior quality than others, by offering lower prices, or by offering unforgettable customer service.

Remember, your competitor may be able to copy what you do, but they cannot copy how you did it – especially when it comes to your customer service and how you made your customers feel.

The easiest way to outshine competitors is through customer service. Larger companies tend to lose the human face and may suffer in this department.

Make your brand available to everyone

Run promotions that stand out to your target audience. Yes, you should not always be giving your brand away for free, however, this is a drawing factor that you care about your customers and their needs. Always make sure that the campaigns you run are creative and different to what has already been done in your industry.

If money is an issue, reach out to other brands in other industries – build partnerships that can help promote your brand. You could help brands with the expertise you offer in your business and vice versa.

However, you need to make sure you pick the right partnership as this could become detrimental to your business if not carefully sought out. Your partner’s successes will be tied to your brand, and the last impression you want to leave with all customers is a good one!

We hope that the above-mentioned tips will help you on the road to brand awareness. Once you have mastered this, it is inevitable that your brand will become the hot topic in the industry. Remember that “If you really look closely, most overnight successes took a long time.” – Steve Jobs. You will get there, just make sure to build a strong marketing strategy to help your business succeed.