In a feature-parity world, it’s all about your brand — here’s how your startup can nail it in the first 100 days | International Association of Digital Marketing Professionals (IADMP)

Let’s say you‘re the CMO of a scrappy startup, and you’ve got limited (or no) budget. You’ve got no name recognition, and no time to waste. So, where do you start to make the biggest impact?

Brand.

I’ve seen this firsthand. I helped build Drift into a category-defining brand and turned my company, Exit Five, into a seven-figure media business.

If I were starting from zero today, I wouldn’t wait. I’d go all-in on brand from day one. Here’s my approach to building a brand in your first 100 days, before you have money or traction. Let’s dive in.

Why Brand Matters More Than Ever for Early Startups

Today’s AI-driven market is full of copycat software tools. So, your brand needs a differentiating factor. For an established company, that’s brand proof. The CRM with 20 years of experience has more proof of its brand value. Early-stage startups can’t point to that type of history.

So, if you’re a scrappy startup, you’ll need to try harder to stand out. That requires really knowing your story. What’s your message, and what makes your journey so compelling that people remember? Then, can you reinforce that message with brand elements — a unique motif, a recognizable logo, or a color scheme that screams you?

Take a look at this company called Blaze AI, a marketing tool built to drive automation. The branding is so eye-catching that it stands out. The superhero theme is memorable. I’m reminded of my favorite comic books where remarkable characters save the day. Perhaps their offering can do just that for my business.

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As a startup, you should already have competitive features. Your offering needs to be just as good or better than what’s already in the market. And, when the product holds its own, your vibe, story, and the platforms you use set you apart. You’ll resonate with customers who are authentically on the same wavelength. That’s essential for growing your business.

How to Build a Brand as a Startup Founder or CMO

So, how do you build a brand from scratch? Let me break down what I think you should prioritize.

Build your strategic narrative first, no exceptions.

Number one: Build a strategic narrative.

That means having a strong point of view about why your company exists and the problem that you help people solve.

In my experience, when we talk about brand, we get too obsessed with colors, fonts, and websites. It’s ultimately the story that matters. That’s the reason you exist.

When I was a young marketer coming up in my career, Hubspot was a brand that I religiously followed, because they came out with this thing called inbound marketing. In the 2010s, the brand focused on marketers who made content to attract people to their company.

The tactic resonated because my background was not in paid. I …read more

Source:: HubSpot Blog