Branding Essentials for Startups: Building Trust, Loyalty, and Success

It is important for start-ups to develop their brand and branding right from the start, because as a small, perhaps still unknown company, they have to do much more to stand out from the competition. Strong branding is the be-all and end-all for every successful company - regardless of whether it is a start-up or an established corporation. After all, a brand is so much more than just a logo or a name - it is a piece of identity that creates consistency, trust and emotion. Branding also represents the business model, the target group, the values and the mission. After all, customers want their needs to be heard and understood.

Table of contents

Why branding is so important for start-ups

Branding compared to performance marketing

Examples: Companies and brand development

The minimum viable brand concept

The role of sustainability

Branding for start-ups (as a minimum viable brand): Why it's so important

The brand can be a growth driver for companies, because every marketing action has an effect on the user and can influence purchasing behavior accordingly. For this reason, long-term brand building should be part of the marketing strategy. By establishing points of contact with the target group, users can become customers. This is because positive memories that a user has with a brand can have a positive influence on the purchase decision. And that is ultimately the goal of a company: to constantly generate sales and profits and build a strong community.

Branding compared to performance marketing

What is the difference between good branding and performance marketing? Through organic brand building, demand can be generated in the target group with the help of identification and relation, which is paid for in performance marketing. Through digital transformation processes and the use of performance marketing, companies achieve one thing above all: fast feedback, fast key figures, fast results. As a result, marketing is increasingly focusing on short-term measures and long-term strategies are taking a back seat. This is why start-ups and small companies should evaluate and define the results of short-term or long-term campaigns. This allows the strategy to be adapted and the results to serve as a communication basis for the budgeting of marketing campaigns.

The interplay between brand and activation is essential for continuous brand development. This is also shown in a study by Meta. Five independent studies across various countries and categories in Europe and a large number of campaigns with conversion lift tests were carried out in order to calculate the short and long-term ROI of advertising across various media channels.

The result: brand advertising can lead to more sales in the short term compared to pure performance.

In the past, focusing on the people most likely to respond to conversion campaigns was the most efficient way to generate direct sales. But the rules are changing. Targeting reach can help campaigns reach more new customers cost-effectively.

In this meta-analysis of 40 conversion lifts, Meta found an 87% correlation between the size of the audience reached and the volume of additional purchases.

• When comparing performance-only campaigns to campaigns that combine reach and performance, Meta found an average of 100% additional reach for 36% higher spend.
• However, it also means more search. Combining reach and performance leads to 84% more organic search than performance alone.
• ...and finally, and this is the key point, the combination leads to more incremental sales - on average 18% more sales than performance campaigns alone, at a lower cost per incremental conversion / ROAS.

When implementing such a strategy, it is important to set realistic KPIs and adjust the budget accordingly. As soon as results from both measures are available, they can be optimized. The same applies here: test, test, test - but don't miscalculate.

Les Binet provides further further useful tips in thisuseful tips in this interview:

• Know your numbers and have an eye on your company's financial and business figures over several years, especially: turnover, profit, price sensitivity and expenditure. Low price sensitivity is important in order to be able to achieve fixed prices and high profit margins.
• Miss organic traffic. In other words, how often, by what means and for what reason do users come to your company website - also in comparison to paid measures?

Overall, the interaction can also be summarized in the following graphic. This and similar illustrations are often shown by Les Binet and colleagues. Without brand building, you eventually reach a plateau. No new people are reached and sales level off. With brand building in the form of emotional communication and the goal of reach, new user groups are reached who potentially become customers.

Success can be measured with a mixture of experiments, conversion lift/geo lift and marketing mix modeling. However, this requires minimum expenditure in order to be able to prove effects.

Examples: Companies and brand building

Les Binet gives a fitting example of how large companies are also rededicating themselves to brand building:

"Companies like Google and Amazon have spent 20 years building a long line of performance data, and they are the ones who are now reinvesting in traditional advertising media like television and outdoor advertising. The rest of the marketing community should take note." (Source)

The creative agency Jung von Matt has published its German Startup Brand Ranking listed various companies that can be seen as role models in the start-up scene because they have cleverly driven forward their brand development.

In first place is "air up", a brand that has only been in existence for three years and has already achieved 35% brand awareness and just as much identification and appeal as its competitors in the beverage manufacturer sector thanks to various brand building measures, including influencer marketing.

Lena Jüngst, co-founder of air-up, says: "We see ourselves as a brand that creates products and experiences for a new and very selective generation of consumers. They are - rightly - increasingly questioning which products they buy and which companies they support. Branding has therefore played a major role right from the start."

And Dr. Kati Ernst from ooia says something very important: "Every product, every service, every app can be copied. ooia focuses on two things: consistent product innovation - and "obsession" for our brand. So on the first day of our founding, it wasn't just about product development - we immediately started building the ooia brand world. Every copy, every
creative, every touchpoint with customers passes on the feeling of ooia, every cooperation partner reflects our principles and aesthetics. Like a common thread that weaves through everything."

These examples show: Brand is becoming increasingly important and should be an integral part of every marketing strategy.

The minimum viable brand concept

Start-ups often have little budget. How can they still succeed in building a successful brand? This is possible with the MVB approach, the minimum viable brand concept. This involves defining the most efficient parameters for brand development and then focusing precisely on these. Minimum costs, maximum impact. Brand building can then be implemented in as little as six to eight weeks.

The following questions can be used to apply the MVB in your own start-up:

• What do we stand for - our brand essence, mission and vision
• What do we believe in - our values
• Which people do we want to address? - Our target group, market analysis
• What makes us stand out? - our most important USP
• What do we offer - our overarching experience, clearly communicating added value
• What do we say and show - our logo and look

Source: https://www.thefabers.de/blog/startup-branding

When it comes to branding, it is particularly important that potential customers understand exactly what the brand does and what added value it offers so that the brand is not interchangeable. Start-ups often need a leap of faith as they are not yet widely known. This can be achieved with uniform branding that radiates orientation, consistency and professionalism in order to be remembered and generate long-term sales.

The role of sustainability in brand development

Companies do not operate in a vacuum. They are just as dependent on our natural resources as we all are. In a world where these livelihoods are increasingly eroding and legislators and consumers are responding, integrating sustainability principles into the brand not only offers a competitive advantage, but can also strengthen brand identity and increase customer loyalty.

• Market differentiation: In many industries, the market is becoming increasingly saturated and companies are looking for ways to differentiate themselves from the competition. A strong commitment to sustainability can serve as a differentiator here by positioning the brand as environmentally conscious and responsible.
• Improving customer loyalty: Consumers, especially younger generations such as Millennials and Gen Z, prefer brands that share their values. By integrating sustainability into their brand essence, companies can build a deeper emotional connection with their target groups and strengthen loyalty.
• Positive brand perception and reputation: Sustainable action can improve a brand's public image. Companies that invest in environmental protection, social justice and ethical business often enjoy a higher reputation and trust among consumers, partners and investors.
• Risk management and compliance: Taking sustainability aspects into account helps companies to minimize regulatory risks and adapt to international standards and regulations. A sustainable focus can also reduce the risk of scandals and negative press that could damage the brand image.
• Innovation and access to new markets: Sustainability encourages innovation as companies look for environmentally friendly alternatives and solutions. This can lead to the development of new products or services that open up new market segments and generate additional revenue streams.
• Employee recruitment and retention: Companies that value sustainability often attract talented employees who are looking for meaningful work and want to get involved in environmental and social issues. This can improve employee satisfaction and retention and foster a positive work environment.
  
• Financial performance: In the long term, sustainable business management can contribute to financial stability by reducing costs (e.g. through energy efficiency), increasing resilience to commodity price fluctuations and providing access to green financing.

By putting sustainability at the heart of your brand strategy, you can not only make a positive contribution to environmental protection, but also strengthen your business and build a more loyal customer base. Sustainability is therefore not a short-term trend, but an essential part of modern brand building. However, please be careful not to fall into the trap of greenwashing, but to substantiate every "green claim".

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at any time.

FAQ

How do I define my brand and what are the most important elements?

The minimum viable brand concept is a good approach for defining all relevant points, i.e. the mission, vision, USPs, logo and look.

How do I communicate my brand and which channels do I use for this?

The most accessible online platforms are Meta, TikTok and Pinterest. Whereas Google, depending on the industry, may already be too expensive. PR is also a relevant channel for attracting attention at an early stage via other media and thus building trust.

How do I achieve a high level of brand awareness and how do I measure the success of my brand development?

Above a certain size, it is possible to measure your own brand awareness using the share of search methodology. This is the best way to obtain figures, especially for start-ups that cannot conduct large measurement studies. For the share of search, you take the total number of all organic searches for a brand via Google Trends and divide this by the total number of all organic searches for all brands in the relevant category over a certain period of time.

How can I differentiate my brand from the competition and make it unique?

Through strong positioning and creativity in communication. Brands that develop and consolidate distinctive brand values build memory structures that last longer and fade more slowly. "People forget what you said, people forget what you did, but people never forget how you made them feel."

How do I maintain my brand and how do I ensure consistent brand communication?

Brand maintenance means adapting in order to remain relevant. I wrote a lot about this in this article on marketing strategy in times of crisis.

How can I strengthen my brand through customer service and satisfaction?

Ducking away is no longer an option. Social media, messenger and chatbots can ensure accessibility. I have summarized some points in this article on Whatsapp Business. Even better if customers are actively asked and they have the feeling that their needs are being addressed and changes are being made.