You’ve come up with a great idea, you’re all ready to roll it out to the public and start spending huge amounts of money, time and effort on it, but before you rush into anything, take a moment to consider whether you’ve covered all bases. One of the things you should really know when starting any business is what your brand’s ‘voice’ is going to be. Luckily, there are several questions you can ask yourself in order to discover what this should be.
- Who are you trying to appeal to?
The first step to discovering what your ‘voice’ is going to be is to think about the demographic that you’re trying to appeal to. When you think about your target audience, are you thinking about middle-aged men or young women? Are you trying to appeal to parents or are you targeting single people and dog owners? This is a very important stage, and it will also force you to consider a much broader range of questions for your business and marketing in general.
- What does your business want to achieve?
Decide how you’re going to advertise to your audience. Do you want people to feel like they need your product or service? Do you want people to feel empowered through your business or inspired and motivated? Think about the brand voices that you like and decide whether you want to copy or imitate any of these. Are there any brands that you hate and would like to avoid being anything like? Make a list of the brand you like and the reasons why you like them. Without copying exactly the same, think about what your brand could do to achieve those.
- Build a focus group
Initially, this can be just a few of your closest friends or family members, but eventually, it should consist of your initial clients and customers. You should ask the group what they think about your brand (or potential idea for a brand) and be open to ideas and criticisms. Ask them what their initial thoughts are when you explain the brand, as this could help you to develop the right voice.
- What do you want people to think of your brand?
Do you want to appear classy, expensive and upmarket? If so, you should ensure that the branding matches your prices so that you don’t run the risk of looking tacky and cheap while trying to look posh and expensive. Do you want your brand to seem friendly, quirky and approachable? Take this into consider when you’re designing your logo and thinking about an office or shop front.
