252: Startup Branding – Does It Matter and How to Do It Right

In today’s episode, Steli and Hiten tackle branding for your startup. It’s a common assumption to think branding is important for ALL types of businesses. Steli and Hiten challenge this notion and explain why certain businesses need to focus more of their attention on their branding. They explain how your “branding” is different from your actual brand and outline why your copy is the best place to start to establish your company’s voice. Tune-in to find out whether branding should be your priority and how to tap into your strengths to create your brand.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

• 00:24 – Today’s topic is branding
• 01:15 – “Branding only matters if and when the customers will care about branding”
• 01:41 – “Branding” is different from one’s brand
• 02:18 – If you’re a B2C business, branding matters more as opposed to those who are a B2B business
• 02:48 – Intercom didn’t care about branding until they were many years into their business
• 03:03 – MailChimp, on the other hand, cared about branding from the start
• 04:10 – Your brand only matters in the eyes of the customer
• 04:27 – In the SaaS world, your branding matters because of how competitive the market is
  • 05:48 – It’s essential to differentiate from others
• 07:02 – Steli thinks branding will get worse within software companies
• 09:19 – The simplest thing you can do for your branding is work on the copy of your website
  • 10:08 – Add some personality to your copy
• 10:28 – How you communicate to people is your brand’s personality
• 12:10 – With Close.io, instead of using generic screenshots to show samples of their content, they infuse humor
• 12:51 – Think about your copy and the ways you can express your team and company’s personality
• 13:20 – If you’re a B2B, don’t invest too much on branding UNLESS you know what you’re doing
• 14:44 – If you don’t have a strong idea about the kind of voice you’d like to convey or don’t have the skillset to write your copy, just use the resources you have within your team and see if you can achieve your branding goals
  • 15:00 – Don’t spend money on an outside party to help you with your branding
• 15:43 – Facebook is Steli’s favorite example for branding that is simple
• 16:21 – Use the strengths you already have in your business

3 Key Points:

1. Your branding will only matter if your customers care about it.
2. A B2B business does not have to focus too strongly on branding.
3. Use your internal strengths to create your brand’s voice and personality.

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