¿Cuáles son las estrategias más efectivas para crear una marca en una startup?

Defining your startup's purpose is the cornerstone of your branding strategy. It's more than a mission statement; it's the core of what problem you're solving and how this aligns with your values and vision. This purpose guides all branding decisions, ensuring consistency and authenticity in your messaging and visual identity. A clear purpose resonates with your target audience, creating an emotional connection and inspiring them to support your startup. Ensure your purpose aligns with your audience's needs and values, as this emotional connection differentiates your brand in a market where consumers increasingly value authenticity.

You can find a lot of advice on defining your purpose on the Internet. According to me, most of the advice misses something important- you don't find your purpose, and you don't define your purpose. Your purpose defines you and it finds you. Hence, the process is less about finding and defining, the process is about tuning in deep into youself- what touches you deeply, what makes your eyes shine, what makes time fly, what gives you energy, what makes you overcome the biggest obstacles as if you are taking a walk in the park... And one day, when your life is near to an end, what will make you say with pride, I did this. If you approach the process like this, it will be easy to define what differtiantes you and defines your USP.

In branding a startup, differentiation is key. Drawing from personal experience, it's crucial to set your business apart. This means not just following established paths, but carving out your own. Utilize unique mediums that set you apart from the masses, embracing strategies that are unconventional in your industry. Dare to be different; it's not just about being unique, but also about being where others in your industry haven't ventured before. This approach not only captures attention but also establishes a distinct identity in a crowded market, making your startup memorable and engaging for your target audience.

There are two components that we need to explore here, and I will give 80% to branding, and 20% to startup. Branding a startup is a fun program (not project), as we start from 0. It's not a rebrand. A rebrand requires us to shift perspectives of predominant market. A startup brand, requires much more work - as we need to identify the problem, come up with a solution, which is represented through our vision and mission. These points should be dived further, as it is a part that's less flexible to pivot.

Researching your competitors is important because this will help you differentiate yourself from them. For example, you do not want your brand kit colour palate to be the same as one of your competitors. It may be trickier to identify their strengths and weaknesses as all brands are evolving over time. However, USP's and branding strategies are more easily identifiable. If you are not sure how to identify these, it may be helpful to ask a few people around you about that particular brand and note any commonalities.

I give most of my time to researching competitors - which I found is a good thing, but less effective and productive. It's also important to look at which numbers, data and information to look at when looking at competitors. I would look at, firstly, the number of funding, team, year built, through linkedIn company page or other websites.

Choosing the right name for your startup is a critical step that can shape your brand identity and market perception. Rather take time to think about the name and logo because these are your market identifies so you do not want to change them and confuse your audience. It is okay to seek feedback from your target market and make adjustments but these adjustments should be related to your digital assets as opposed to your name and logo.

While voice and tone should be consistent, startups should also consider their differentiated audiences and personas. Your voice and tone to investors or buyers will likely be different than that of your actual users (i.e. consumers). Further, different marketing channels often attract different demographics. Consider how you would address your followers on LinkedIn versus TikTok, for example. While it's incredibly important to establish a consistent voice and identity, much like in life, how we speak to different people often depends on who they are, and what they stand to gain from talking to us.

The rule of 7 is based on the marketing principle that customers need to see your brand at least 7 times before they commit to a purchase decision. It is important to keep this in mind when creating your brand identity kit as this will influence your digital assets. Your digital assets include your logo, slogan, colour palettes and typography. Helpful online tools such as Adobe Design and Canva can be leveraged to create your brand identity kit.

I like this approach. As a designer it is easy to get lost in logos, colors and type right from the start. But as a founder, the business will take different forms as the product and the customer develops. Knowing that your brand strategy might change over time means, startup can apply a “move fast, break things” philosophy to brand building.

Según mi experiencia, tan sólo hay 2 factores realmente vitales: 1) Analiza e identifica claramente tu propuesta de valor competitivo (¿qué (o cómo) ofreces que no ofrecen los demás?) 2) Traslada (comunica) de manera diferencia y efectiva ese mensaje (de forma que tu público target lo entienda y recuerde sin confundirlo con el de tus competidores. Ser diferente es algo que siempre me ha aportado ventajas, tanto a mí como a mis startups Con lo anterior claro, entran en la coctelera otra serie de condicionantes como el diseño atractivo, los canales adecuados o las herramientas digitales que siempre enriquecen (y mucho) el resultado.

Alongside being able to clearly articulate your purpose, it is helpful to know exactly who your different target groups are. Do research. Understand their different perspectives. Take this into account when developing your brand positioning etc.