Your startup is more than just a discovery or technology. While your tech can provide some success, it doesn’t always translate into the business world on its own. The secret to success is creating a brand. A brand is more than just a logo; it’s about telling your scientific story quickly and easily through carefully selected words and visually appealing graphics. It may seem unimportant initially, but it’s a worthwhile investment many startups use to accomplish their goals.
Fundamentals of Brand Strategy
The local and regional NSF I-Corps™ programs focus on entrepreneurial education and offer valuable opportunities for research teams to identify and understand their target markets. This exciting discovery phase lays the groundwork for crafting a memorable brand. While your innovative idea is important, remember that strategic branding and clear communication are vital for achieving long-term success and distinguishing yourself in a competitive landscape. Here are some ways to build up your startup brand:
- Understand Your Audience: By signing up for a local NSF I-Corps™ program or leveraging the knowledge you’ve gained from participating, you can discover and start to understand your customers. These insights help identify customers’ needs, preferences, and pain points. These customer insights become the foundation of your target market research, empowering you to define your story and identify the communication tools needed.
- Define Your Brand Purpose: What is your startup’s mission? Identifying your brand’s purpose and articulating it clearly to potential stakeholders and consumers will give your startup a clear sense of direction and purpose. It also helps align team members to ensure they work towards the same goal.
- Create a Brand Guide: Once your purpose is established, you can create supporting elements. This can include logos, color schemes, typography (text styles), photography, and design elements. Brand guides serve as a quick reference and maintain consistency in all materials and communications, helping your startup come across as reliable and professional to stakeholders and target audiences. They also help save time and resources by aligning team members and partners during the creation of marketing materials.
- Engage and Foster Community: Community engagement allows your startup to create a supportive ecosystem. It offers opportunities for feedback and collaboration that improve your business plans and fosters relationships that, in turn, become your most valuable brand ambassadors. Engaging and promoting a community for your startup can help you scale in a way traditional marketing cannot.
- Evolve: Market and consumer preferences are ever-changing. Be prepared to adapt and evolve your brand strategy to stay in tune with the marketplace. Stay responsive to feedback from key stakeholders, partners, and your community, and pivot your brand strategy when needed to remain relevant and competitive. By continuously evolving, your startup can better meet the needs of your audience, capitalize on new opportunities, and maintain a strong market presence.
Must-Have Items for Your Communication Toolkit
A communication toolkit is a set of predesigned materials that you can use to engage with investors, stakeholders, and other audience segments. Thinking through and creating these materials while developing your brand will allow your startup to soar above others. Here’s a list of essential marketing materials to consider having on hand:
- Company Overview: This detailed document describes your company, including its mission, vision, history, products or services, target market, and key achievements. It provides a comprehensive introduction to your business. Using this detailed description, you can easily format shorter communication needs like the executive summary.
- Website: Establishing a website should be a top priority since they are a quick way to showcase your research, technology, and expertise to a broad audience. Because the platform is easy to update, it is a great way to manage and target key prospects easily. Implementing news, events, and blog feeds on websites is an excellent marketing tool. Adding features like forms and blog feeds helps support marketing efforts, like lead generation, and helps position your team as experts in the industry.
- Pitch Deck: A well-designed presentation is a startup’s most valuable tool. Your presentation should outline your startup’s mission, vision, value proposition, market opportunity, business model, and financial projections. A visually attractive design will capture your audience’s attention and make a memorable impression for investor meetings and pitches.
- Marketing Collateral: At the very minimum, business cards and one-pagers are affordable takeaway materials that are valuable at trade shows, conferences, and networking events. The documents can use different sizes and formats. Still, they should include detailed information about your research and tech, their benefits to society, and unique selling points.
- Press Kit: Create a folder that can be shared with team members to easily access press releases that announce significant milestones, high-resolution logos and images, founder bios, and the company background. Include real-world examples of how your research or tech produces a positive societal outcome, if possible.
Before creating your toolkit materials, think of ways to explain your idea, innovation, or technology visually. Infographics, charts, and images can support your points, highlight important data, and create a memorable impression. At UW-Madison, the College of Engineering’s Office of Research Impact and Outreach helps STEM groups on campus develop their brand and communication strategies. Their team includes experienced graphic designers, illustrators, and content writers who can explain science and technology concepts in easy-to-understand ways and craft strategic marketing plans to help startups take off.
Building a strong startup brand is a journey that requires strategic planning, creativity, and continuous adaptation. If you’re unsure where to start or what to do next with your idea, technology, or startup business, TEO can help guide you. Contact us today!
Written By: Jen Fenton