The most vital thing that determines the success of your business is branding.

Having a decent product alone is not enough. The trick is to create an image for it that will resonate positively in the mind of your audience. As essential as this principle is for big corporations, startups should work on it as well. 

However, it can be challenging to come up with a unique and memorable brand identity. Many businesses, especially startups can’t excel in this aspect because they don’t know its principles. Well, it revolves around what you can offer. It’s not about how frequently you talk about your brand and how shiny you present it. What makes something special is its essence.

We at Xavier Mah Consultancy, have our own method that we’ve tried in the past, which is proven to provide excellent results to the businesses we've collaborated with.

Analyzing, Identifying, and Determining (A.I.D), Is our brand building formula. This article will show you how it works so that you can establish the right brand image which connects you to the right audience which will lead to your success!

1/Analyzing your company’s resources and competitors

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What are the assets at your disposal?

Let's assume that you’re an entrepreneur who wants to venture in the Durians business.

You possess the knowledge to create Durians without the smell which they are notorious of. You have a technique that enables you to grow them for cheap. You have the expertises who can help you create a business model and you know how to tell good stories.

As for your competitor, let’s assume they are called Durian B.

Durian B has been in the business for quite some time. They have a decent cash flow, they have a share of the market in your area, they have a loyal customer base but they are not perfect. They do not care for establishing a presence on social media, there isn’t any news about them that highlights an involvement in giving back to the community. 

As you can see, we’ve uncovered quite a few things that we can take to our advantage. As we’ve elaborated previously, there’s quite a few things that make your product special. 

2/Identifying your brand’s unique selling points, core strengths and target audience.

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Assuming that you’ve unlocked the secrets of making the perfect Durian which tastes better, has a unique size proportion, better vitamins, in addition to some elements we’ve mentioned earlier. These can be considered as USPs. They will put you in a position where others cannot compete against you. Therefore, you have something that you can leverage on to boost your brand’s reputation.

As for your strengths, aside from being an above and beyond thinker, you have no social media presence but you do know how to maximally utilize them. You are aware of locations where your business can flourish and you spot a potential for demand. Most importantly, your product is like no other. 

When it comes to entering the market, you need to use these elements to try and find an audience that is willing to try your Durian. How do you use these elements? 

Let’s assume that you live in an area where there’s a population of health and environment conscious people. This audience is into healthy food, they like the idea of eliminating waste and they like trying the contemporary stuff. 

Unlike your competitor who sells his Durians in a plastic disposable container, you can separate yourself by selling them just as they are. If you’ve done your population research right, once they see that you are doing something which they approve of they’ll support your business. In addition to that, once they know about how healthy your Durians are, they will like you even more.

Now, you have all this potential, you know how to stand out, where do you go from here?

3/Determining the best channels to sell your brand and vision.

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Since you know your audience well, it is crucial to figure out what they’re into.

Assuming they’re millennials and Gen z, they are probably on social media all the time. They like things such as memes, watching YouTube, using snapchat to show off their lives to others and the list goes on. 

It might be difficult to establish your presence in the real world but what about social media? As you make your entrance into this area, you'll realize that you’ve got to compete with content creators and understand the algorithm which runs the show. In addition to that, You have to grow your page, come up with content ideas, and know the trends. All of which requires lots of creativity and a ton of effort. 

On that note, we’ve come up with an article that will help make your life much easier. 

Now that you’ve determined the channels, you should focus on selling your brand and vision.

Going back to the point we made earlier about the plastic disposable container, you can use that to your leverage. Your brand’s message could revolve around preserving the environment. Since your audience is into this kind of stuff, you should have great potential to stand out. 

Overtime as your revenues increase, you can come up with CSR campaigns which you can turn its message into Public Service Announcement (PSA) which you can use as content for your online platforms. You’ll also supply stories for the media. They will amplify your brand’s vision which leads you to the ultimate goal of creating your own brand identity!

If you need our help in PR & branding, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at info@xaviermah.my!