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Setting up a new business can be both exciting and daunting in equal measure with lots of small jobs to be completed to get you out there and known. Thankfully there are many services available to help you along this journey. 

When deciding which service you do or don’t want support with, it’s good to first recognise what skill-sets you do, or don’t have as part of your newly formed business. You will get better ROI on any investment you make for support if you focus on the skill-sets that you perhaps don’t already have available internally. Most companies will not have a designer, web developer or marketing professional helping them set their business up, especially in the early days. Instead, most founders, like everything else, try and do as much as possible themselves, which is fine if executed effectively and with some expertise. Below we will cover the most important steps that a creative agency can help you with to get your business launched quickly and effectively.

1. BRAND NAMING

A strategic brand naming process is critical to your brand building strategy. It’s notoriously difficult for a new business to settle on a suitable name. Many businesses will burn through 1000’s of suggestions with even some of the more obscurer names or clever shorted names being taken already. In order to get you on the right track, here are some basic steps:

Set some clear objectives

Does your business name need to indicate the services or products you will provide or can it be more obscure? Who will be the key decision makers (Shareholders, business leaders, employees) for this new name

Define what the core identity is

Who are you as a business and how do you wish to be perceived? Consider the following:

  • Your brand vision (Why your company exists)
  • Your brand mission (What you do and why)
  • Your brand values (How you deliver on your promises)
Define what the core identity is

If you don’t fully understand who your target market is then you wont know how to position your new brand. You’ll need to create a set of likely user personas for your brand and define some attributes that represent them. Your newly defined user personas will allow you to view your own brand, services/products from he customers perspective and adapt accordingly.

Naming

With all the above data collated, start brainstorming and collating your ideas. Make sure the name is memorable and have a solid filtering process to get the more experimental or inappropriate suggestions removed.

Check how your name translates

This step is often overlooked and can cause great embarrassment down the line, especially if your service or product has an intended international audience. Spend a little time researching, using google translate or simply connecting with friends or colleagues from other countries to get a sense check on how your name is understood in other languages.

Legals and other due diligence

If you fall on a favourite, check that the name hasn’t already been registered or trademarked. Also a quick domain check is handy to see if someone else has claimed it or not. Sometimes a domain name may be claimed but can be purchased through a broker. Once you have green lit these vital steps, ensure to secure your name before moving forward with any other steps.

Tagline creation

Beyond the name of your business, a tagline is an effective way to further deepen and indicate what your brand stands for or does. Careful consideration need be given to a useful tagline as it needs to communicate alot in very few words.

2. BRANDING AND STRATEGY

At its most basic, when it comes to needing a brand for a new business, a logo would suffice. But really, branding is much much more than a logo.

Using much of the data collected in the Brand Naming steps above, your design agency can start putting together some viable logo options for you along with extended brand elements such as repeated patterns, regularly used shapes or textures that also define your brand.

Significant competitor/market research is required to understand your industry, your competitors and where your new business intends to fit into it. A full branding exercise can vary massively in complexity, but we often find the more work you put in at these early stages, the greater the benefits further down the line for your brand.

Once a suitable solution has been selected, your creative agency would also present to you a visual demonstration that your logo will work across a number of applications, whether it’s in print, on a billboard or a tiny 50x50px social media bio image. Below are some of the deliverables you can expect when conducting a branding exercise:

  • Strategy and avatar exploration
  • Finished logo and all file types and variances
  • Branded stationary
  • Branded presentation deck
  • Brand guidelines
  • Demonstration of how the brand would be applied in a variety of user cases (this would also be included in the brand guidelines

3. PRINT MATERIAL

Extending from the initial branding, your new business will need multiple methods for promoting your services and products whether it’s within your office or store, or for exhibition events and shows, or perhaps for direct marketing to your customers such as leaflets and postering. What are the initial pieces of print you will need to conduct your business? Below are some initial recommendations:

  • Branded stationary (these are often created along with your logo)
  • Presentation folder (these are useful to carry other materials to meetings etc)
  • Exhibition materials (Roller banners, Stand banner, Table, Handout materials)
  • Main product brochure
  • Marketing leaflets and postcards
  • Print advertising

4. WEBSITE

A website presence is a priority for your business. You need a place for your customers to see who you are, what you stand for and why you are the best at what you do. We use “Inform, Excite, Guide” as the 3 primary principles when thinking about the customer journey. Provide them with all of the information they need, and do it in a way that feels seamless and easy to your customer.

A website can be complex, but with some well defined steps it doesn’t have to be. If you focus on your strategy and content then with an experienced creative agency everything else will follow. Below are some other top-level things to consider:

  • How can you use your website to automate some other business processes?
  • How does your website integrate with your CRM system?
  • Does your website work just as well for mobile visitors as it does desktop visitors?
  • Does your website load in under 2 seconds?
  • Has your content been optimised for search engines?
  • Is your website accessible and meeting web standards?

5. SOCIAL PLATFORMS

With an over abundance of social platforms to join, its difficult as a new business owner to know which one will give you the best ROI. Using step 1 we can identify who your target audience is and choose the best social platform(s) for your business and focus on those only. Your social platform presence should feel like a seamless transition from your website. We recommend you cover the following basic steps when working on building your social following:

  • Be authentic and honest
  • Provide truly valuable information
  • Ensure your branding is consistent with other platforms
  • Define what your tone of voice will be and ensure its consistent with other communications
  • Post regularly and share across other platforms

6. ADVERTISING

Building a brand and a business is no longer enough these days to ensure business success. You have to shout loud and often to announce who you are, why you’re the best, and where to find you. There are many ways to do this, but one of the most effective is a targeted Google ads campaign. You can tailor the campaigns for international, national or local levels and dictate who your audience should be and how you wish to communicate your services/products to them.

Beyond google ads, depending on what your service or product is, Facebook advertising (B2C) or Linkedin advertising (B2B) can also be highly effective at targeting your exact customer avatar (see above).

Youtube campaigns, whilst sometimes more costly to generate content, are also highly effective at generating interest around a product, subject or service. Video content is highly shareable and more likely to be engaged with than other more conventional forms of media. Below are some more suggestions:

  • Print advertising (Local and international)
  • Radio advertising
  • Digital advertising on affiliate websites
  • Linkedin advertising
  • Facebook advertising
  • Instagram advertising

7. CONTENT MARKETING

Defining a content marketing strategy is paramount to getting your business off the ground and noticed. Regularly generated, interesting and unique content is critical to driving fresh organic traffic to your website. Provide real value to your potential customers by giving them useful information about subjects that link to your services or products. 

Regular posting over time will help define you and your business as thought leaders within your field whilst maximising time on site, return visitors, and an increase in leads.

Think about what types of content you can offer your visitors. Here are some quick suggestions:

  • Blog posts
  • Insight
  • Case studies
  • Podcasts
  • Webinars
  • Short instructional videos/tutorials
  • Video testimonials
  • Interactive illustrations
  • Short explainer videos (these can also be animated)

8. INTERNAL DOCUMENTATION

Any business, large or small will need branded internal documentation, whether its a simple branded letterheaded template within Word, or a Powerpoint pitch or presentation template for winning new work and clients…investing in professional creative services to set these up for you will not only extend your branding across all areas of your business but keep it all looking consistent too.

Your business needs to look professional from the website down to the way your sales team or staff present materials. Below are some basic recommendations:

  • Powerpoint “pitch” presentation
  • Sales presentation
  • Internal meeting presentations
  • Staff on-boarding presentations
  • Response to RFP’s pitch deck
  • Sales cards
  • Social media templates for regular internal posting

In conclusion

We recently supported Helixr with their their business consultancy launch. You can see some of the deliverables produced for them here.

We have over 15 years of experience helping businesses like yours prepare for launch and grow. Whether its branding, website design or marketing, we are well positioned to ensure success for your business goals. Give your business the best chance of success and connect with us for a free 15 minute consultation.