Brand Story for Startups: Bring what you know, be honest about what you don’t
For start ups who are formulating a brand identity from scratch, the pressure to be more than you are can be overwhelming. Resisting the urge to oversell or to be everything to everyone, can be difficult. After all, a start up wants to court the widest possible customer base to ensure their viability. But, this is the quickest way to alienate people from your brand.
Don’t overcomplicate it. Startups should know the following things.
What do you know?
What unique experience, service, product, are you bringing to market?
Why are you and your team uniquely qualified to offer it?
What can it do for your target audience?
What don’t you know?
For the market you’re serving, what are the things accepted as standard that you’re either unfamiliar with or question their purpose?
Do you want to learn and adopt or resist? Why?
Do you think your target audience is being well served by competitors?
Where is there room for your experience, service, product?
Answering these questions will force you to identify a cursory brand story, and it will also begin to help you formulate where you fit in a competitive landscape—Why you exist, Who you’re talking to and why. Do this work. It will provide clarity where startups often need it most. Sometimes it will point to holes in your business plan/service. Don’t ignore that. I promise it will save you work down the line if you address it early and adopt the solutions to those things into your business identity.
Need help weaving your findings into something actionable? Please get in touch.
