The process of building a brand is exciting, and as creative entrepreneurs it’s easy for us to find ourselves caught up in the aesthetic details of our project, especially when the idea is new and we’re passionate about the impact it could have. That’s why it’s important to remind ourselves, from the beginning, that branding is not just a logo, a catchy tagline, or a trendy color palette. While we may derive satisfaction from endlessly tweaking copy and design, our brand is shaped by larger forces than our brand book. Our brand is the set of associations people have with our business—the feelings, perceptions, and ideas that come to mind when they think of us. It exists whether we shape it or not, so we might as well make it intentional.
A strong brand has clear, consistent associations—whether positive or negative. A good brand builds meaningful, positive, and lasting associations. The goal is to be both.
Building a brand that accomplishes this requires authenticity, consistency, and avoiding shortcuts that erode trust. Here’s 5 steps to get you started:
1. Focus on Building Positive Associations
Create a Consistent Experience
Customers should know what to expect from every interaction with your brand—from your website to customer service. If your tone is warm and helpful on Instagram, it should be the same in your email replies.
Deliver on Your Promises
It sounds obvious, but it’s where many businesses fail. If you promise quality, deliver quality. If you say you ship in 3 days, don’t make it 5. Customers remember broken promises.
Showcase Authenticity
Be upfront about what your business stands for and don’t try to be everything to everyone. If sustainability is a core value, share real stories about your efforts—even if they’re imperfect. People trust honesty over perfection.
2. Build Your Brand with Actions, Not Deception
While it can tempting to chase quick wins—buying followers, running misleading promotions, or overhyping what you offer, tricks wear off fast, and the damage to your reputation lasts.
Instead, focus on real engagement, however small your audience is.
- Respond personally to customer comments and questions.
- Celebrate your customers by sharing their stories and experiences in your newsletters and on social.
- Create content that speaks directly to your audience. Imagine yourself on a call with a customer seeking advice, what would you offer them?
3. Strengthen Your Brand Through Identity & Storytelling
Develop a Clear Brand Identity
Your mission, values, and personality should be crystal clear—not just to you, but to your team, your contractors, your suppliers, and most of all your customers. Keep your visuals (logo, colors, typography) simple, memorable, and consistent. Consistent is better than exciting or novel.
Tell Stories That Resonate
People connect with stories, not sales pitches. Share your journey as a founder, shout-out customer success stories, or showcase some behind-the-scenes moments of you and your team. People don’t just buy products—they buy the story that comes with them (and the story that they will-in turn-be able to tell about the item).
Encourage Word-of-Mouth Marketing
Nothing builds a brand faster than customers who LOVE you and will not stop talking about it. Give them reasons to—through exceptional service, a unique experience, or thoughtful details that make your business unforgettable. Reach out personally to thank new members for joining, go out of your way to accommodate a last minute request from a client. Doing these unscalable actions while you still can will ensure the positive brand associations that will build the foundation of your success.
4. Avoid Gimmicks and Emphasize Meaningful Engagement
Instead of chasing quick wins, focus on building relationships:
- Respond to reviews (both good and bad) with professionalism and empathy. There’s nothing worse than reading a bad review with a response from the business that is equally emotionally charged and negative. The response does more damage than the original review. Keep things impartial, positive, and accommodating and you may even win back a customer.
- Offer value in your content—tips, tutorials, or insights that genuinely help. Don’t be afraid to give away your secrets as so many founders are. Your clients are not buying your information, they are buying your implementation, and revealing that you truly understand the scope of their problem will only serve to further build trust and encourage a working relationship with you.
- Invest in long-term efforts like email marketing, events, or community-building initiatives such as memberships and online clubs.
5. Keep It Simple and Stay Aligned with Your Values
Use Your Values as a Guide
Your values should shape every decision—from product development to marketing. For example: If your brand is about simplicity, ensure your website, messaging, and client onboarding processes reflect that.
Focus on What Matters Most
Stick to 2-3 key messages you want people to associate with your brand. If you’re about quality and trust, let that be the backbone of everything from packaging to customer service. Do not be afraid to repeat yourself, most people are finding you for the first time and have no prior knowledge of your business. For those who know and follow you, the reminder is often more impactful than hearing something of the first time.
Stay Consistent Across All Channels
Your brand should feel like the same person, whether someone interacts with you on Instagram, your website, or in an email. Consider this: if your brand were a character in a story, what would you expect from them? What are the characteristics that make them memorable and likeable. Your job as the business owner is to create this character and ensure they show up everywhere your business does.
Final Thought: Define Your Brand in 3 Words
A simple way to start: Ask yourself—what are the top 3 words you want people to associate with your business? Write them down and use them as your guide.
Want to refine your brand? BAIA helps small businesses build strong, authentic, and lasting brands. We invite you to reach out if you’re ready to get started.