So, branding.
It's commonly thought of as just the logo and colors you have for your pet business. We all associate certain colors with specific brands. Think red and yellow for McDonald’s or green for Starbucks.
But, here’s the thing. A business brand is so much more than just colors. So much more.
In fact, a brand is essentially all aspects of your business that you’re showing to the world.
It’s an attitude, an emotion, a feeling. When you see a business logo or hear a tagline, they release attitudes, emotions, and associations. People make insanely quick judgments about brands and it’s one of the biggest factors in purchasing decisions. That’s right - people do judge by the cover because that’s what creates everything we feel or believe about a brand.
In other words, branding is an experience.
To create a successful pet brand, these are the following tangibles to keep in mind:
Mission
Tone
Imagery
Typography
Visuals/graphics
Logo
Colors
The biggest piece of the puzzle before getting started with your branding is to ask yourself, what kind of experience do you want your customers or clients to have?
Before you can promise them a positive experience, you have to know who they are and why they need your business. That’s going to require you to identify your target market in a deeper way than you may currently have set up.
Most of my clients, when asked who their target market is, tell me...‘pet owners.’ That’s insanely broad and will not allow you to capture the right people and make your pet business successful. The pet industry itself is very personal, which means ‘pet owners’ will primarily purchase from brands or businesses they truly align with, trust, and believe in.
So, get really specific when building out your target market.
How old are they? What kind of job do they have? What kind of pet(s) do they own? What’s their income? Where do they hang out in their free time? Where do they shop? What are they missing out on? What are their dreams? Why do they really need a product or service like yours? What are their struggles?
When you can describe your target market as a whole person, you’ve completed your foundation work. From there, you can work on establishing your brand.
Make your personality a priority. People want to connect with the face behind the business (again, especially for the pet industry). When they know you, like you, and trust you, they are more likely to buy from you.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a pet groomer, a pet sitter, a pet photographer, or you’re selling pet products online…your brand should also reflect a piece of you. Because that’s what’s going to sell at the end of the day. As Simon Sinek says, “People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe.”
So, be authentic, be real, and most importantly - be true to yourself!
That’s the best brand you can ever come up with, promise!
So, tangible steps:
Sit down and reflect upon your ‘why.’ Why did you start or why are you starting your pet business? What message do you want to put out there? In an ideal world, what would your product or service do to change the community or world?
Are you afraid to share about yourself and put your personality into your business? Many of my clients are scared to do so, so I suggest working through some of those fears before getting started with the branding process. Otherwise, you will continue to shy away and it could affect your business. Try a self-development book (my favorites are here), affirmation/meditation videos on Youtube, working with a coach or therapist on trapped emotions or anxieties, etc.
Establish your target market. Really dig deep into it and follow some of the prompts in the above blog post or do some research on advice for figuring out who your target market is. The more detail, the better.
Once you’re done with the above, head over to part 2, where we continue on the topic of branding and dive even deeper into how to finalize your branding strategy. Because, without a great branding strategy, your business is missing out on LOTS of opportunities.
And I’m here to help!!
P.S. If you know you want to outsource this process, I’ve got you.
Click here to learn more about our branding and web design packages.
