Every brand needs a voice, especially startups.
The messaging you provide your audience is what helps your target audience understand your value and why you’re useful. Your messaging tells the potential customer why they should do business with you.
Your brand’s promise must be clear, it must tell a story, and it must be convincing.
Brand messaging for your startup should convey your value proposition and help your customers relate to your products or services. Your brand messaging should inspire, persuade and motivate the sale.
To help you keep on top of your startup’s brand messaging, let’s look at mistakes to avoid.
Not Doing Your Research
Many startups fail to do their research before undertaking their brand messaging.
If you don’t know anything about the competition, it’s hard to define your own business.
Research helps you uncover the successes and failures of the competition. Knowing this gives you an advantage over the competition when it comes to brand messaging.
Look at the products they sell, services they offer, your target audience, their digital presence and more.
Not Understanding Your Market
Do you know your target market?
It’s one thing to come up with brand messaging and another to know who it will appeal to.
If you don’t know your target audience, you can’t create effective brand messaging.
You must know what your target customers expect, want, and need, and how they are meeting those demands now.
First, identify your target customers. Then, find out what problem you can solve for them. Finally, you can create your brand message.
Using Buzzwords
While “new,” “innovative,” “best-ever,” “unique,” and other buzz words may sound great to you, it’s not messaging that will appeal to your audience.
You don’t want to be part of the popular crowd by using buzzwords in your brand messaging. Your goal is to stand out and make an impact. Buzzwords hinder your ability to do just that.
Find a wordsmith to help you with your copy. Make sure words pack a punch and resonate with your customer.
You also want a brand message that works into the future, so trendy buzzwords aren’t the best route to take.
Messaging by Committee
Studies show that the optimal number of people for problem solving teams is about six. Each extra person after that reduces your effectiveness.
This is why you don’t want to design your brand messaging with a large committee.
The bigger the group, the more opinions there are.
What’s more, be careful about who you invite to brand messaging meetings. Make sure that the strongest voice is willing to hear what others have to say.
You also don’t want your brand messaging to look like it was crafted by multiple people. It should be tight and cohesive.
Being Too Cautious
Brand messaging should make an impact and spark a feeling or emotion. At its core, brand messaging compels your audience to take action.
You can’t afford to be too cautious.
Know your market and use your research to create a bold statement. Be impactful with your message so you make the biggest impact.
A word of caution, though – while being bold and influential, you want to stay authentic. Be true to who you are and abide by the mission and vision of your startup.
Final Thoughts
Behind every successful startup is a strong brand message and one that resonates with customers.
The brand messaging makes a statement about why your startup matters, what it stands for and why customers should choose you.
Steer clear of the brand messaging mistakes to avoid that we looked at in this article, and you’ll be well on your way to standing apart from your competition.
Remember that your brand is your promise to customers. Make it clear and stand behind it.
Are you a new startup ready to succeed? Are you looking to get your new business off the ground and watch it rise to success? We are here for you. We can help answer your questions and guide you through the process. Outsource your HR duties, finances, payroll and more to us. Contact Escalon today to get started.
