Six Questions to Ask Yourself If You’re Starting a Brand
If you’re launching a new business, you need a brand—not just the logo, fonts and colors, but the unseen, characteristic-like aspects of your business that will connect with customers.
If you do your due diligence and take the time to write out the answers to these 6 questions, and your brand will start in a better spot for a designer to work on things like your logo, fonts, colors, etc. Answering these questions also helps you make clearer, more strategic decisions in your business so that you can connect with the right people in the right ways.
Below are the six questions to answer for your business. I go through these in strategy sessions with my clients; sometimes they’ve hashed these out themselves ahead of time, and sometimes they need to talk these through with someone to really figure out their brand. Either way is okay! Once clients feel confident about their answers to these, then we know they’re ready to move forward with identity design.
Why do we exist? I mentioned this question in a previous post: what’s your why? What’s the vision you have for your customers, your community, even the world, that makes you want to start and run your business?
What do we do and how do we do it better than our competition? This is more than just describing your product or service: what’s the problem that your business is solving for your customer or client? What is the solution you’re selling them that fills a need in their lives? AND, how are you doing it better than everyone else in your industry?
What makes us different than everyone else in our industry? Beyond just doing something better than your competition, what sets you apart? Is it your backstory? Is it the mission you’re pursuing through your business? This question looks more into you and your business itself, not just the product or service you provide.
Who are we here for? Who is your core customer or clientele, and what do you know about them? The more you know, the better you can serve them.
What do we value most? This gets into brand values—as the founder, owner, CEO, etc., what values are you instilling in your business? What does your business stand for?
How does our business think, act and feel? This is about brand personality. What behaviors and customs does the business engage in? How should your audience feel when interacting with your brand?
Want to talk through these questions? Book a free discovery call with me, and we’ll chat about working together on your brand and your identity!
