Identify Your Brand Story

Before you can really figure out who you should market your products to, you’ll want to figure out what your brand actually stands for and means to you. Every great product has a story behind it…for us, it’s our commitment to being a family owned business built on tradition while still striving for innovation. Whether you started making soaps, candles, bath bombs or more as a hobby or you’ve always dreamed of revolutionizing a certain product type, identify where you came from and where you’ll be going. By telling a captivating story about your brand, your products will feel more personal to customers who can relate with it. Start with a sentence or two about what your brand means to you and what you hope to achieve with it. From there, you can incorporate a mission statement and more in-depth details about what kickstarted your journey. 

Define Your Unique Selling Points (USP’s)

When you can separate your own brand story from others’, you’ll be able to identify your unique selling points. USPs are aspects of your brand and products that separate you from the masses. This can be anything from the ingredients you use, the fragrances you offer, or just your packaging and label design, there’s bound to be something you do that others don’t; and this is your chance to cater to customers who are looking for that very selling point. For example, if you source all your ingredients locally and work to support other small businesses, make sure to highlight it. Or maybe you use unique materials that are hard to find in other products. Some of our USPs include our commitment to fast turnaround times and affordable shipping without sacrificing quality. 

Theme vs. Niche

In today’s internet based retail environment, it can be difficult to really find out what makes your brand unique from someone else’s. That’s why figuring out your USP’s will help you delve further into developing your brand’s theme. Aside from just having a niche, your products should have a theme that flows throughout. Think of your brand’s niche like a genre of music and its theme like a subgenre. Sure, there’s rock music, but within that genre, there’s classic rock, heavy metal, alternative rock…the list goes on! If your products only fall into a general niche, you may still have some trouble standing out among the crowd.

Conducting Market Research

If you’re struggling to identify your USPs, take a moment to do a little market research. Explore hashtags that are relevant to the products you make to find out what other sellers are pushing to their customers. Check out your local bath and beauty store or homegoods store to see what’s considered “new and now”. It doesn’t take thousands of dollars and weeks of analyzing data to do your own market research; just a keen eye and some social media knowledge! This research also gives you an opportunity to learn what customers are seeking out. Ask yourself what fragrances are typically sold out on store shelves or browse comment sections to see what customers are requesting from other brands. Find the gaps and fill them! 

Building Your Audience

After you’ve nailed down your brand story and what makes it unique, you can work your way towards building a target audience. Every consumer has different values and needs, so the special aspects you identified as part of your brand can connect with potential customers who are looking to meet those needs. Opening the door to feedback from people both within and outside of your desired audience will help you narrow down your customer base so you can begin to foster a connection with those most dedicated to your brand. Accommodating the advice you receive will show your commitment to those customers and further settle you into your “niche” and “theme”.

Final Thoughts

Remember, building a brand is as much about developing your products as it is about developing your image. A great product can easily be overshadowed by a lack of brand identity, whereas a stellar social media presence is nothing without quality products behind it. Finding the balance in both will make growing your target audience come naturally over time.