How to Build a Brand That Can Compete with Market Leaders

Originally published: April 27, 2020 10:43:37 PM, updated: November 19, 2022 12:00:00 AM

There’s a simple bit of truth that most business owners neglect when they begin their endeavors: leaders aren’t born, they’re made over time. In that sense, Nike, Coca Cola, and Rolex, among many other world-renowned names haven’t become overnight successes, but they built their success day after day, one brick at a time. If you want to join the big leagues, and genuinely compete with the leaders of your industry, you need a presence that can outshine such a strong legacy and years of dedication.

Another moment of truth? That, too, doesn’t happen overnight, nor is there a single strategy to grant you such a prominent presence among the biggest of players in your niche. It’s up to you to pour in those same hours of dedication and build a legacy that will always protect your brand. In the meantime, establishing such a powerful presence takes a strategic approach and ample creativity. Here’s where you can start your brand-building journey.

Constant research and learning

Your customers constantly change, and your market leaders follow their lead, but they also become trailblazers and establish industry trends that suit their purpose. It takes time to reach that position, but until that day comes, you should be able to keep an eye on your audience and learn all there is to know about them.

Use all of your analytics and data-collecting tools such as Google Analytics to figure out your customers’ online behavior patterns and improve your brand presence. Get to know their habits on social media, see what kind of content drives the most engagement, and refine your publishing schedule to suit their preferences. Spot hashtags and topics to cover, and find a way to express your unique viewpoint through your content pieces and spark a conversation around it.

Build your unique identity

A unique logo is just the beginning – you need a matching color palette, a designated brand font, a tone of voice to match your values, and of course, your purpose. However, even when you complete all of those steps, you need to help all of your employees and customers understand precisely what your brand is all about, and that requires producing print materials such as your brand book, brochures, flyers, as well as digital content such as infographics and the like.

Many brands don’t have the in-house capacity to handle this intricate process, which is why they work with professionals. In the pursuit of brand consistency across all channels, Infostarters provide print and digital publishing materials that embody your brand’s visual identity and pair it with your unique tone of voice. This, in turn, helps you convey the right messages in different, engaging ways, so as to bring your brand to life.

Invest in proper marketing strategies

An invisible brand is no brand at all. Even with a breathtaking visual identity and a unique voice to shake up your industry, you still need to bring it to life and allow the world to help you establish your brand name. What are the leaders in your industry doing? Are they relying on social media for ads and engagement? Do they work with influencers? What about their blog and content creation? Do they send direct mail materials to their customers?

Marketing your brand properly is the key step in positioning yourself right next to the most beloved names in your niche. Although some marketing tactics work for all, you should be as specific as possible when choosing channels that are most appealing to your target audience, and build up your name on platforms where those very same leaders reside.

Remember: leaders never stand still

While we all love and know Coca Cola’s unique logo and we can recognize its memorable Christmas commercials in a split second, the brand is anything but stagnant. What they are is consistent. In quality, presentation, emotional edge, creativity, taste, and reach – they consistently use their product to establish an emotional bond with their audience, but their products don’t stand still.

You’ll notice that they employ the latest, most effective methods to stay ahead of the curve. They personalized their products, allowing customers to literally create their Coca Cola experience, which is just one in a series of ways to run an engaging campaign. You need to be able to recognize such industry momentum and generate interest by evolving your brand over time without compromising its identity.

Brand-building is a never-ending process, and if you’re truly about to take on the greatest brands in your industry, you need to make sure that you’re equipped to do so. Let your brand evolve and grow with your customers’ needs, define its uniqueness, and above all, make sure that you never stagnate. No matter your industry, the steps you take in the infancy of kick-starting your business will define how well you succeed, and how well you stand your ground when facing the most prominent names in your field.

Jacob Wilson is a business consultant, and an organizational psychologist, based in Brisbane. Passionate about marketing, social networks, and business in general. In his spare time, he writes a lot about new business strategies and digital marketing for Bizzmark blog.