Filip Boksa

Co-Founded BookingKoala and King of Maids. Grew his first business (cleaning service) to over 5 million and 100 workers by 22 with $6,000 and no outside funding. Today focuses on helping services through BookingKoala.

Branding Strategies & Guide (12 Point Checklist)

Branding is one of the essential factors in starting and growing a successful business. The proof is everywhere. Look at some of your favorite companies, and there’s a reason you like them or enjoy buying from them. I can tell you that if you’re not focusing on establishing your business as a brand name in your niche, you’re hurting yourself in the long run.

Why establish yourself as a brand name?

As an established brand, you can charge higher prices because everyone wants to go with a company that can be trusted. The ball is then in your court, and typically such companies have more demand than they can handle. That results in price increases, which lead to higher profit margins. At the end of the day, you make more, and you can hire better, more qualified employees. Due to all that, you do much less, encounter fewer problems, and make more money. I don’t know about you, but all that sounds worth it to me versus being the owner chasing each client, earning less, and dealing with more problems. I’d personally rather spend that effort on making sure my brand is the best in my market.

On top of that, customers stick with you far longer, meaning you make more money in the long term. You also get far more returning customers. At the same time, all these things are huge perks, but there’s another one that many people overlook. When establishing yourself as a brand name in your niche, you’re growing an asset. Such brands are purchased at higher multiples, and you will be able to sell your business faster and at a better price when it’s time for you to part ways with your business.

Building a brand strategy for your business

Every detail matters when it comes to establishing your business as a brand name, and a brand strategy is required. I’ve tested hundreds of different methods to sell a prospect, and the number one thing that it all comes down to is having a solid brand strategy from the beginning. Selling is an art, and it is a combination of multiple components that need to be met before someone is sold. I will show you the 12 essential elements to follow to sell someone in this post. There will be people who are sold if you have 2 of the components, and there will be people who will only be sold if you have five or more. The more of them you incorporate into your business, the more customers you will be able to sell at a higher price. 

The 12 brand strategies to start with

Keep in mind these 12 components are not the only ones out there. There are many ways to establish yourself as a brand, but once you go over these 12 I showcase here, you’ll better understand what to do with your brand strategy.

1. Name

Names are important, and you should spend a few hours finding something unique and easy to remember. Don’t just find something in 2 minutes and roll with it but also don’t waste two weeks finding the correct name. There’s a fine line between something being critical enough to spend extra time on it versus wasting way too much time on the task.

When picking a new name, you need to focus on your vision first. Are you going to stay small and service a particular niche, or will you go broad one day? For example, are you going to focus on home cleaning, or is the goal to one day offer commercial cleanings, maybe even go as broad as mobile car cleaning or grocery delivery. If you stay niche-specific, a name like King of Maids is a good fit, but if you go broad, you need to find a better name to fit all the industries you serve. Otherwise, at a glance, your customers may think you offer home cleaning services only. Changing your name later after you’re well established can cause short-term effects on revenue, and it can be a costly change to make.

Once you’ve established your vision, you should look for a memorable name that is short and easy to pronounce and type. You want to eliminate any friction that will make the customer have a hard time saying it or typing it on Google when it’s time to look for your services again. Also, if Siri or Alexa can’t understand you because your name is too long or too complex, it will never pull up your business when someone is searching for it.

2. Logo

A logo is something that each business should have. A good logo that flows with your name will make your brand easier to remember. The easier it is for your customers to remember you, the better it will be for your brand. Make the name and logo flow with one another. See how Apple follows both strategies mentioned in this article so far. The name is short and easy to remember, and the logo fits the name. If you keep branding yourself with such a name repeatedly to the same customer, they will never forget it. The best companies in the world do this very effectively, and you shouldn’t neglect it.

Creating your logo doesn’t have to be expensive either. With the help of tools such as Canva, you can build your logo for free. You can also pay someone a few dollars on Fiverr to make something for you. It doesn’t have to be perfect right from the moment you start, but if you do have extra funds, paying someone for a great logo is never a bad idea.

3. Domain

When finding a domain for your company, you want to go with something most common in your Country. Try finding a name that ends with .com if you live in the United States and service the US primarily versus .net or other less common options. You’d be surprised how many people don’t trust other options or don’t know about them. If they don’t trust your domain, it will decrease sales, and if they type something like kingofmaids.com by instinct and your site ends with .co, they won’t ever reach your site. On top of it, if you have a long, complex name, and they try to find you on Google because your .com site doesn’t exist and you chose something like .co, then you’re just adding extra friction to the customer experience. Remember that the goal is to have as little friction in the overall customer experience and even something so tiny as this adds up.

When picking your domain, you should also find something that is the same as the name of your business. For example, kingofmaids.com is the same as King of Maids, bookingkoala.com is the same as BookingKoala and apple.com is the same as Apple. It will make you look more professional, trusted, and established.

4. Email

Same as the domain name, your email should end with your company name to look professional. Use an email such as support@bookingkoala dot com and not bookingkoala@gmail dot com – Although this is not the end of the world, it will make you look bigger, more trusted, and it will set you up for the future when you need to add more users.

5. Colors

Colors are also important. Every color tells its own story, and you want to be able to tell yours. Here is an example of what I mean. Do you notice how King of Maids goes with purple because ‘King’ and ‘Royalty’ go together?

It clicks, and it brands your company whether you know it or not. This makes a big difference when it comes to selling. It’s psychological, and it’s proven. This is also a reason why sometimes you like one company better than the other. Simply because of their colors and how they brand themselves.

6. Slogan

Do you have a slogan for your company that explains what you do in one or two seconds? My companies have at least one, and we use them to brand ourselves. Here are examples of slogans we use:

  • BookingKoala: “Work Smarter, Not Harder” or “The Perfect Platform To Grow A Service Business.”
  • My cleaning service “Experience Royalty” or “Book A Cleaning Online In Seconds.”

A slogan is a way to brand yourself, and it is a must-have. It should be used when you run advertisements, on social media profiles, and on your website. Typically most businesses use it only once somewhere on a website or an AD. However, it should be continuously branded so that a prospect sees it often and many times. You’d be surprised, but sometimes people remember the slogan more than they remember the name. A simple slogan can also hook them into buying from you.

7. A Good Professional Website

When someone lands on your website, it will take some people less than 3 seconds to determine if they want to do business with you or not. Whenever I look for new software to use or used to, whether for personal use or business purposes, there’s a specific purchase behavior I follow. I’ve caught this as I’ve done the same thing over several years whenever I was searching for software. I go to Google, explore the term, and open up every software result I can find. By the time I’m done, I have 20+ tabs open. Then, I go through them and close the ones with an outdated or poor website design. After that, I have far fewer options to go through, and I only return to those sites if I still haven’t found what I’m looking for. 

Yes, I’m judging those companies, and I’m assuming those sites are less superior in less than 3 seconds. I’m not the only one out there that does this, and that’s why having a good branding strategy is so important. Many people don’t do that and won’t care what your website looks like, but then many people do, and you should prepare for that. As I mentioned earlier, the more branding strategies you have, the better off you’ll be because you never know what drives the purchase of each specific client. 

If you want to learn how to build a website in a few hours and what to look for when building one, you can visit this blog post: https://www.bookingkoala.com/blog/how-to-launch-your-new-website-in-just-a-few-hours/ 

8. Social Media

When you set up your profiles, they will all make an impression. Make sure to create the most popular profiles and fill them up with appropriate content. Remember, whatever you post, will either hurt your reputation or strengthen it, so post relevant content that helps your business. For example, if you’re a new home builder, filling up your Instagram and Facebook profiles with images of your new completed homes will go a long way. When someone is looking to make such a considerable investment, they want to know as much as possible about you. They will likely end up on all of your social media, and having content they can engage with is extremely helpful in selling them and ensuring they are making the right decision and buying from your company.

9. Public Feedback

Public feedback is a big deal. Most people search for information on the web about the company before they buy from them. Having lots of positive things about your company online will help build credibility, making sales a lot easier. It’s essential to focus on building a positive reputation which means caring about your customers and your company is vital. 

Don’t be the customer who won’t refund a terrible experience to save some money. You don’t want these customers to go and post negative things about you when you know you’re at fault and didn’t do anything to remedy the situation. This is a terrible approach, and in the short term, it might save you $100, but in the long term, it will lose you millions depending on the size of your company and the length you’ve been in business. Having a bad review won’t be the end of the world, but if they keep adding up, each sale will be more challenging and harder.

10. Voicemail

When someone contacts your business, you should look professional at all times. This includes correctly setting up a voicemail using a solid script and good audio quality. If someone is calling you for the first time, it won’t look good if you don’t have a voicemail set up, and it will look worse if you do, and in the background, you can hear kids screaming or dogs barking. Here is what a good voicemail looks like:

Welcome to ABC. We apologize you couldn’t reach us at this moment. If you are looking to book an appointment, view pricing, or reschedule, you can do so on our website at www dot ABC dot com. If you have any issues or questions, please leave us a voicemail with your name and phone number, and we will give you a call back as soon as we can. Have a great day!

It’s not long, nor is it complex, but it’s professional and inviting. If someone is interested, they will leave a voicemail or call back. It certainly doesn’t come off as not professional and doesn’t leave a bad first impression.

11. Scripts

Same as a voicemail, you need to follow a script whenever you answer a call or an email. It should be professional and to the point. You will use this script to train your employees. You don’t want employees answering in different tones. It doesn’t look professional, and it leaves a wrong impression. Having everyone start with ‘Welcome to ABC, how can I help you‘ versus ‘Hello‘ or ‘Have a wonderful day‘ versus hanging up the phone without saying anything is a big deal. It may not seem like it, but all these little things add up, and implementing such strategies will positively impact your brand.

12. Great support

Having great support should be a must. The goal is to care about your customer and try and help them out as much as you can. Having great support can be provided in various ways. You can have quick email support, and you can have an excellent help center, phone support, live chat support, or a combination of all these examples. The most important part is to show the customer you’re there for them and make sure they see that.

If you are branding your business correctly and using the above branding strategies, you will see significant improvements over the long run. Add these immediately when starting your business, or add them to your already existing business if you haven’t focused on them thus far. Also, experiment with your ideas and figure out ways to make your brand stand out and look superior. There are many ways to do this, so don’t be afraid of getting creative.

Helpful resources

Helpful blog posts to help you get started:

Which business would you like to start?

Starting up starts here

We’re here to help. Get free education, tips, and inspiration to help you START and GROW a successful business.