Day 05: Business identity and communication
This is the last session on business identity and branding and our highlight is on learning how to effectively reach out to your intended audiences. It is important to communicate your business to your customers or other intended audiences and specially when it is young.
Once you get your business or trading name, then you are ready to do business under the name. You need to learn how to communicate to your market using the name. You will no longer sell using your personal name but rather your business name. This is essential so that your clients can know and reach you by the brand name.
You will need to set a platform where your clients can reach you when they need to. The several offline communication modes and platforms are:
- You might consider owning a postal office mailing box where you will be receiving your letters or mails through.
- You can buy an independent telephone number for the business. This separates your personal calls to business.
- Buy a domain name and web hosting and set email accounts. These email accounts will assist you to communicate with your clients professionally. Free email addresses are no longer professional.
- If you will be reaching your clients through internet, you might consider opening a skype account. Skype is an internet telephone where you call your clients for free. It will save you on telephone costs especially to cross border clients.
After you have the above communication modes, then you can use the following strategies to communicate your identity to your clients:
- Business Logo: Get a graphic designer to design an elegant logo for you. The logo will be what your customers will be associating with your business name.
- Business Letterhead: A letterhead is essential when sending official letters. It can be on soft copy for sending online letters and printed for offline letters.
- Business Card: Develop and design a business card and include all of your above elements in it. Start giving out the business card to your prospects and clients. Its also worthwhile to have a soft copy of the business card for sharing in social media.
- Business Profile: Get a consultant to develop a business profile. The profile is a great way to tell your clients or suppliers about your business in details.
- Business website: Most of the time, it’s easier and cheaper to reach your clients through internet. Especially if you are running your business online. Therefore, having a website will enable you to be found online. It also enhance your business name on the world wide web.
- Business Plan: It won’t be long before you start looking for finances or partnerships. The best way to communicate your business to the potential financiers or investors is through business plans.
All of the above strategies enables you to communicate your business to various stakeholders; your clients, suppliers, financiers and collaborators.
Our next session is on Developing business model and processes where you will learn on how you can use different models to operate your business.