Creating a brand identity for your business’s success

Brand identity is how your business is perceived by customers and how they can tell it apart from others in the market said Sheila Najita the Digital and communications manager at MTN Uganda.

According to Naijita, who was speaking to the youth attending the MTN Uganda Youth skilling program dubbed Session 101, she emphasized the importance of creating visibility of your business and making a memorable brand experience for customers.

“Brand identity comes in the form of a name, term, design, or symbol that is unique to your business only. When choosing how to portray a brand you must take into account what your business provides and how you want customers to remember the business” she said.

Brand identity is how you want your customers to perceive your business. It is s a culmination of how your brand feels and how it speaks to customers. Whenever you interact with your customers you create a brand experience from the way you speak to your customer to the branded receipts, branded shop, and branded packaging.

“A brand persona will help to create a memorable experience in your customer’s mind to ensure customers return to your business, so if your branding fails to capture that, then it becomes difficult to have customer retention and in turn, the business dies”

Najita advised that for all businesses to survive one must engage in ample research before they start the business and after so that there is continuous learning and feedback collection. This can also help to identify what your business seeks to communicate and what kind of customers you are looking for.

“Branding is what I would call dressing your business in different facets since you are trying to create a brand persona that can capture your target market,” she said

Uganda is ranked as one of the most enterprising countries with high percentages of new business each year according to Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM). But the business failure rate remains high due to inadequate skills and proper product positioning.

Najita advised the youth to invest time and resources in creating a solid brand identity that can position their business for success and also use branding to create a competitive edge in the cut-throat market.

She also emphasized the importance of creating visibility for businesses online and gave a few tips on how to brand online.

She said one should create a brand identity and present how one would like your business to be perceived through visuals, audio, and aroma elements to tell your brand’s story and engage with people.

Develop a website for your business where customers can get more information and while at it, create a seamless user experience and optimize your website through search engine optimization.

Customize your social media accounts with your tagline and attractive visuals that enhance your image and easily identify you from the various online brands.

Create meaningful content that speaks to your target audience and is authentic for your followers to relate with.

She, however, cautioned them to not invest all their time and resources in branding and fail to provide the projected service or product. She advised the youth to ensure that they are filling a known gap in the market with a product or service of a high-quality standard that ensures value addition.

MTN Uganda through the MTN Foundation Uganda unveiled its Youth skilling program under the foundation arm of youth empowerment in 2020 benefiting at least 100 youths in preparation for the evolving digital world with the goal of creating practical ICT-driven economic solutions to challenges in society.

MTN Uganda has over the years committed to integrating youth into its programs as a measure to empower them economically.