{"id":14278,"date":"2023-03-24T16:42:03","date_gmt":"2023-03-24T16:42:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightpartners.com\/?p=14278"},"modified":"2023-09-19T09:16:13","modified_gmt":"2023-09-19T13:16:13","slug":"founder-101-brand-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/ideas\/founder-101-brand-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Founder 101: Why and when to invest in brand"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The term \u201cbrand\u201d is wildly misunderstood. Many people perceive brand as colors, pictures, logos, and fonts \u2013 and that\u2019s it. This is far from the truth.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">While brand absolutely encapsulates the look and feel of your company, visual identity is just one slice of the pie. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Brand is your company strategy; it sets the direction for years to come while providing every stakeholder a North Star of what you stand for, your ultimate goal, and how you get there.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Brand serves as the foundation for all your communications, shaping how stakeholders perceive your business and the value you create. For this reason, brand must be consistent across every touchpoint from your website to your pitch decks, and BDR calls. Brand i<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">mpacts the success of every stakeholder\u2019s experience with your company and their likelihood of converting, and every stakeholder\u2019s ensuing opinion of that experience impacts your brand\u2019s reputation. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-14284\" src=\"https:\/\/insightpartners.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/brand-impacts-every-interaction.png\" alt=\"brand impacts every interaction\" width=\"600\" height=\"593\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/brand-impacts-every-interaction.png 600w, https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/brand-impacts-every-interaction-300x297.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Your brand is what enables you to rise above the noise to drive awareness, build affinity to convert, and influence decision to purchase. Brand is what allows you to meaningfully connect with your buyers again and again.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Why should I invest in brand?<\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">We know what you\u2019re probably thinking: &#8220;W<\/span>hy should I invest in brand if I need to drive pipeline NOW?&#8221;<span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0Investing in brand is critical for every company looking to build sustainable growth and profitability. <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">S<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">trong brands:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"28\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335551500&quot;:0,&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Drive company focus and set vision\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"28\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335551500&quot;:0,&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Forge organizational alignment<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"28\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335551500&quot;:0,&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Build or increase competitive moat <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"28\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335551500&quot;:0,&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Lower cost to acquire customers (CAC)<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"28\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335551500&quot;:0,&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\">Garner premium pricing<\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"28\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335551500&quot;:0,&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Improve customer lifetime value (CLTV)<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"28\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335551500&quot;:0,&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Drive higher valuations<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Companies go wrong in assuming that if they are focusing on brand, they are diverting resources from generating demand. Brand and demand must co-exist to drive sustainable growth. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Bottom line: there is no demand without brand. <\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>When should I invest in brand?<\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Within Insight\u2019s portfolio, companies early in their ScaleUp journey drive new bookings via demand-focused tactics (e.g., paid digital marketing). Founders and CEOs tend to put brand on the back burner in the early stages of growth in order to prioritize focus on new logo demand generation and sales enablement. This lack of focus on brand results in a game of catch-up in the later stages of growth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-14333 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/insightpartners.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/when-to-invest-in-brand-1.png\" alt=\"when-to-invest-in-brand\" width=\"592\" height=\"510\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/when-to-invest-in-brand-1.png 592w, https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/when-to-invest-in-brand-1-300x258.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 592px) 100vw, 592px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>So, when should you start focusing on brand to avoid playing catch up?<span data-contrast=\"auto\"> The simple answer is the earlier, the better. However, three core readiness factors must<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> be in place before you begin. You&#8217;re ready if you can confidently answer \u201cyes\u201d to all three questions below. Keep in mind that you will need dedicated resources (either in-house or via an agency) to execute against your strategy.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Brand Readiness Checklist<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li data-leveltext=\"%1.\" data-font=\"Calibri\" data-listid=\"29\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335551500&quot;:0,&quot;335552541&quot;:0,&quot;335559684&quot;:-1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[65533,0],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;%1.&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Do you have established product-market fit <\/span><\/b><strong>(PMF) and demonstrable market traction?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"%1.\" data-font=\"Calibri\" data-listid=\"29\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335551500&quot;:0,&quot;335552541&quot;:0,&quot;335559684&quot;:-1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[65533,0],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;%1.&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Do you have a clear definition of your ideal customer profile (ICP) and buyer personas?<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"%1.\" data-font=\"Calibri\" data-listid=\"29\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335551500&quot;:0,&quot;335552541&quot;:0,&quot;335559684&quot;:-1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769242&quot;:[65533,0],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;%1.&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Are you confident your core product and go-to-market (GTM) strategy won\u2019t change course for at least 6 months?<\/span><\/b><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">If you already h<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">ave a brand established, but are experiencing growth or efficiency challenges, brand could still be the culprit. Check out signs and symptoms that you need to revisit your brand below.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Signs it\u2019s time to dedicate more resources to brand<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"25\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\">Your messaging is focused on features and functions instead of how you solve buyer pain points.<\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"25\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\">Your messaging speaks to only one buyer persona instead of the entire buying committee.<\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"25\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"3\" data-aria-level=\"1\">Your competition is heating up, and your win rate is declining.<\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"25\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"4\" data-aria-level=\"1\">Your performance marketing ROI is quickly approaching diminishing returns.<\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"25\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"4\" data-aria-level=\"1\">Your category is being disrupted by the \u201ccool kid,\u201d and customers are churning.<\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"25\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"4\" data-aria-level=\"1\">Your product doesn\u2019t fit into an existing category, so you need to figure out how to position yourself.<\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"25\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"4\" data-aria-level=\"1\">Your product\u2019s value has expanded or shifted.<\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"25\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"4\" data-aria-level=\"1\">Your business wants to target a new market segment, industry, or region.<\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"25\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"4\" data-aria-level=\"1\">Your employee attrition is up, and you are struggling to attract top hires.<\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"25\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"4\" data-aria-level=\"1\">Your reputation is suffering due\u00a0to poor software review site ratings, negative media mentions, or less-than-stellar analyst evaluations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Now that you know it\u2019s time to build or double down on your existing brand, keep in mind that the best-kept secret to success is simple: be intentional! <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">No one accidentally stumbles on a billion-dollar brand. Beloved brands require thoughtful progression with participation from the entire organization. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>What are the elements of a strong brand strategy?<\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">There is no single activity that builds a brand. Fruitful brand building is an umbrella approach made up of a series of tactics, each aligning to and delivering on your brand strategy.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Insight has developed a <\/span>four-step process<span data-contrast=\"auto\"> to help you think through the building blocks to drive awareness and affinity for your product. Each of the below terms is linked to our <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/insightpartners.com\/ideas\/insight-brand-glossary\/\">Brand Glossary<\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-14289\" src=\"https:\/\/insightpartners.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Screenshot-2023-03-24-at-12.01.03-PM.png\" alt=\"Brand ROI &amp; Measurement \" width=\"734\" height=\"536\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Screenshot-2023-03-24-at-12.01.03-PM.png 734w, https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Screenshot-2023-03-24-at-12.01.03-PM-300x219.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 734px) 100vw, 734px\" \/><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/insightpartners.com\/ideas\/insight-brand-glossary\/#Insights\">Insights<\/a> \u2014 Capture customer, market, and competitor insights.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/insightpartners.com\/ideas\/insight-brand-glossary\/#Buyer%20Foundations\">Buyer Foundations<\/a> \u2014 Leverage insights to define your TAM, ICP, buyer personas, and buyer\u2019s journey so that you know your audience and can drive hyper-targeted tactics.\n<ul>\n<li>TAM<\/li>\n<li>Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)<\/li>\n<li>Buyer Personas<\/li>\n<li>Buyer\u2019s Journey<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/insightpartners.com\/ideas\/insight-brand-glossary\/#Strategy\">Strategy<\/a> \u2014 five brand essentials that make up a successful brand strategy:\n<ol>\n<li>Mission, Vision, and Values<\/li>\n<li>Point of View (POV)<\/li>\n<li>Messaging &amp; Positioning<\/li>\n<li>Category<\/li>\n<li>Brand Identity<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/insightpartners.com\/ideas\/insight-brand-glossary\/#Activation\">Activation<\/a> \u2014 Arm your GTM team with enablement, content, and campaigns to drive awareness, engagement, and conversion. Ensure your website reflects your differentiated value proposition and visual identity. Test and iterate tactics to learn what works.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Building a brand doesn\u2019t mean you have to break the bank. Plenty of activities cost nothing and drive exponential value (e.g., defining your ICP, aligning your messaging to how you uniquely solve your ICP&#8217;s pain points, and articulating this value on your website). <\/span>Brand is anything but a one-size fits all. <span class=\"ui-provider gp b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z ab ac ae af ag ah ai aj ak\" dir=\"ltr\">Every company should be intentional about building brand and aligning right-sized investments to achieve their goals at every stage of growth.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The term \u201cbrand\u201d is wildly misunderstood. Many people perceive brand as colors, pictures, logos, and fonts \u2013 and that\u2019s it. This is far from the truth.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 While brand absolutely encapsulates the look and feel of your company, visual identity is just one slice of the pie. Brand is your company strategy; it sets the direction [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":10744,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-marketing","topic-growth-strategy"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.1 (Yoast SEO v23.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Founder 101: Why and when to invest in brand | Insight Partners<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/ideas\/founder-101-brand-guide\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Founder 101: Why and when to invest in brand\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The term \u201cbrand\u201d is wildly misunderstood. Many people perceive brand as colors, pictures, logos, and fonts \u2013 and that\u2019s it. This is far from the truth.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 While brand absolutely encapsulates the look and feel of your company, visual identity is just one slice of the pie. Brand is your company strategy; it sets the direction [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/ideas\/founder-101-brand-guide\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Insight Partners\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-03-24T16:42:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-09-19T13:16:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/blog_buying-1.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"558\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"415\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jen Jordan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@insightpartners\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@insightpartners\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jen Jordan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/ideas\/founder-101-brand-guide\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/ideas\/founder-101-brand-guide\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jen Jordan\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a8493e07e95c0a29e5a5832110e82f1b\"},\"headline\":\"Founder 101: Why and when to invest in brand\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-03-24T16:42:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-19T13:16:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/ideas\/founder-101-brand-guide\/\"},\"wordCount\":973,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/ideas\/founder-101-brand-guide\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/blog_buying-1.png\",\"articleSection\":{\"1\":\"Marketing\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/ideas\/founder-101-brand-guide\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/ideas\/founder-101-brand-guide\/\",\"name\":\"Founder 101: Why and when to invest in brand | Insight Partners\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/ideas\/founder-101-brand-guide\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/ideas\/founder-101-brand-guide\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/blog_buying-1.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-03-24T16:42:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-19T13:16:13+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/ideas\/founder-101-brand-guide\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/ideas\/founder-101-brand-guide\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/ideas\/founder-101-brand-guide\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/blog_buying-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/blog_buying-1.png\",\"width\":558,\"height\":415,\"caption\":\"Execs discussing\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/ideas\/founder-101-brand-guide\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Founder 101: Why and when to invest in brand\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/\",\"name\":\"Insight Partners\",\"description\":\"Scaling the Future of AI\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Insight Partners\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/insightpartners.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Inisghtpartners.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/insightpartners.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Inisghtpartners.png\",\"width\":1255,\"height\":650,\"caption\":\"Insight Partners\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/x.com\/insightpartners\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/insight--partners\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a8493e07e95c0a29e5a5832110e82f1b\",\"name\":\"Jen Jordan\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/95cc93892e0d46db81ac6197312850f9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/95cc93892e0d46db81ac6197312850f9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jen Jordan\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Founder 101: Why and when to invest in brand | Insight Partners","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/ideas\/founder-101-brand-guide\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Founder 101: Why and when to invest in brand","og_description":"The term \u201cbrand\u201d is wildly misunderstood. Many people perceive brand as colors, pictures, logos, and fonts \u2013 and that\u2019s it. This is far from the truth.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 While brand absolutely encapsulates the look and feel of your company, visual identity is just one slice of the pie. Brand is your company strategy; it sets the direction [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/ideas\/founder-101-brand-guide\/","og_site_name":"Insight Partners","article_published_time":"2023-03-24T16:42:03+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-09-19T13:16:13+00:00","og_image":[{"width":558,"height":415,"url":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/blog_buying-1.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Jen Jordan","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@insightpartners","twitter_site":"@insightpartners","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jen Jordan","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/ideas\/founder-101-brand-guide\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/ideas\/founder-101-brand-guide\/"},"author":{"name":"Jen Jordan","@id":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a8493e07e95c0a29e5a5832110e82f1b"},"headline":"Founder 101: Why and when to invest in brand","datePublished":"2023-03-24T16:42:03+00:00","dateModified":"2023-09-19T13:16:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/ideas\/founder-101-brand-guide\/"},"wordCount":973,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/ideas\/founder-101-brand-guide\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/blog_buying-1.png","articleSection":{"1":"Marketing"},"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/ideas\/founder-101-brand-guide\/","url":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/ideas\/founder-101-brand-guide\/","name":"Founder 101: Why and when to invest in brand | Insight Partners","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/ideas\/founder-101-brand-guide\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/ideas\/founder-101-brand-guide\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/blog_buying-1.png","datePublished":"2023-03-24T16:42:03+00:00","dateModified":"2023-09-19T13:16:13+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/ideas\/founder-101-brand-guide\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/ideas\/founder-101-brand-guide\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/ideas\/founder-101-brand-guide\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/blog_buying-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/blog_buying-1.png","width":558,"height":415,"caption":"Execs discussing"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/ideas\/founder-101-brand-guide\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Founder 101: Why and when to invest in brand"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/","name":"Insight Partners","description":"Scaling the Future of AI","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/#organization","name":"Insight Partners","url":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/insightpartners.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Inisghtpartners.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/insightpartners.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Inisghtpartners.png","width":1255,"height":650,"caption":"Insight Partners"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/insightpartners","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/insight--partners"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a8493e07e95c0a29e5a5832110e82f1b","name":"Jen Jordan","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/95cc93892e0d46db81ac6197312850f9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/95cc93892e0d46db81ac6197312850f9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jen Jordan"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14278"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14278"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14278\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16662,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14278\/revisions\/16662"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.insightpartners.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}