14 things you need to know in start-up branding
From Unknown to Unforgettable: Stories and Strategies to Transform Your Startup into a Trustworthy Brand by Harsh Pamnani
From Unknown to Unforgettable: Stories and Strategies to Transform Your Startup into a Trustworthy Brand by Harsh Pamnani is a business book that focuses on the art and science of branding for startups.
The author has interviewed many Indian industry stalwarts and established Indian start-up owners to create a compilation of essential lessons and takeaways in the book.
It offers actionable tips, detailed case studies, and inspiring stories. It helps entrepreneurs transform their baby-dream companies into brands that resonate deeply with customers.
It will guide them to become trusted entities in the market.
Key Themes of the book
Storytelling for Branding:
- The book emphasizes the power of storytelling in creating a memorable brand. It provides frameworks and real-world examples of how startups can create stories that connect emotionally with their audience.
Trust as a Cornerstone:
- Harsh Pamnani highlights that trust is the most critical component of a successful brand. The book explores strategies to build and sustain trust, such as transparency, authenticity, and consistency.
Case Studies of Indian Startups:
- The book showcases examples of well-known Indian brands like Zerodha, Stage OTT, Icertis, BigBasket, SIRONA, Luscious, and Paper Boat, illustrating how these companies navigated their branding journeys and became household names.
Branding Strategies for Startups:
- It offers practical advice tailored to startups with limited resources. The book includes strategies for leveraging creativity, resourcefulness, and customer insights to craft a strong brand identity.
Universal Lessons with Local Context:
- While the examples are rooted in Indian businesses, the lessons are universal, making the book applicable to startups globally
Why This Book Stands Out
14 takeaways from the book by Harsh Pamnani
1. Branding starts from day one
Branding begins with identifying your target consumer and grabbing a unique understanding of their needs, wants, and desires.
- Example Quoted: Slurrp Farm a healthy foods brand for kids was started by two mothers. Two mothers noticed that all moms wanted to replace their kids’ unhealthy diets with nutritious snacks and food.
Quote: “Identifying the right purpose for your brand is crucial, and it can be beneficial from the very beginning, not just when your brand reaches a certain size and maturity.”
2. Start-ups must validate their belief systems with their target audience
- AS much as it is important that you emphasize your processes, challenges, and values internally, getting external feedback is also essential. Vision and mission statements must be relatable to the audience.
- Example Quoted: India is a land of many languages and local dialects. To cater to these audiences STAGE OTT aims to be the largest dialect-based OTT platform.
Quote: “When a brand’s guiding philosophy remains steadfast over time, it helps establish consumer trust and loyalty.”
3. Appreciate the importance of company culture. It should be unique and it should be handled carefully.
- Culture should be such that everyone deeply understands it, it feels inclusive to all and it should be open to learn new things. It is critically affected by the industry the start-up works in.
- Example Quoted: BigBasket a grocery delivery business is heavily dependent on their blue collar delivery boys. They value work more than they do a candidate’s education and English language proficiency.
Quote: “To drive culture effectively, it has to be integrated into company policies, over time.”
4. Insights are crucial for understanding consumer needs better, and for creating a new leader even in a crowded market.
- Insights help you find gaps in a competitor’s product, insight-based communication make a brand stand out. Insights evolve with time. Insights don’t alsways come from boatloads of data, even observing people and their problems can help you with new opportunities.
- Example Quoted: SUGAR cosmetics saw an opportunity in makeup/lipstick brands specifically keeping in mind the Indian women.
Quote: “Our research insights helped us realize that recognizing distinctions in the preferences of different target segments is a crucial aspect of product development in the beauty industry.”
5. Category creation and selection in order to gain first mover advantage
- While launching a product in a new category you need to test for its longevity, its high cost for launch, understand the risks and be patient.
- Example Quoted: EPIGAMIA was an early entrant in the Greek yogurt market in India.
Quote: Co-founder of Atomberg, Shibham Das says, “We look for three things while choosing a category. First, how large can we become in that category? Second, how efficiently we can solve problems? Third, we ask ourselves if we are solving a real customer problem? We are okay if the first two are not always 100 per cent yes, but the third is non-negotiable.”
6. Market segmentation to tailor products for distinct customer groups.
- Market segmentation results in higher customer satisfaction and hence higher sales and more loyalty towards the brand.
- Example Quoted: Carat Lane understood the importance of micro-segments when they focussed on occasion that held an emotional pull for their audiences instead of the traditional demographic segments.
Quote: “As our target audience is on Google and Facebook, the challenge doesn’t lie in reaching out to people; it’s about identifying when they intend to make a purchase.”
7. Product-market fit is a make or break stage in a business journey.
- Does your product align with what the customer wants? It is the key to business success, customer satisfaction, revenue and sustainability.
- Example Quoted: Kuku FM realized that only 10 per cent Indians were good in English yet all audio content was primarily in English. That’s how KUKU FM a non-English audio platform for the Indian audience was established.
Quote: “At times we have to optimize the fit for our marketing channels; other times we have to fine tune it for content and features.”
8. Clear positioning and brand transformation are critical in a competitive market.
- Successful brand positioning involves creating differentiation and relevance.
- Example Quoted: Chaayos created a unique positioning with India’s favorite beverage. An upscale establishment for a nation full of tea lovers.
Quote: “To our delight, people did come. In fact, many came four times a day.”
9. A brand’s design is a powerful differentiator
- Design is not only about visual appeal or packaging, it must take into consideration people’s needs and the ability to find a solution to a problem.
- Example Quoted: CaratLane is a brand focussed on designing beautiful, wearable and affordable jewellery for every day. The brands elegant designs have made the brand popular and successful.
Quote: “Although the design may look like a piece of art, designers must carefully understand the logical aspects of consumer decision-making before layering on the creative elements.”
10. Systems and processes must be in place before scaling a brand
- To provide excellent customer service and deliver products or service’s promptly without compromising on quality a brand must have all backend processes and systems aligned and supporting the business.
- Example Quoted: BigBasket India’s largest online grocery brand expanded operations to new cities only when they had mastered processes in their primary city Bangalore.
Quote: “While it can be tempting for venture capital-funded businesses to prioritize rapid expansion, at BigBasket we opted for gradual growth to establish these metrics in every city we operated in.”
11. Communication impacts a brand in multiple ways.
- Communication creates brand awareness, trust in the customer’s mind, and also creates a favourability amongst partners, employees and investors.
- Example Quoted: SUGAR cosmetics saw an opportunity in makeup/lipstick brands specifically keeping in mind the Indian women.
Quote: “Our research insights helped us realize that recognizing distinctions in the preferences of different target segments is a crucial aspect of product development in the beauty industry.”
12. Fine Tune your offering for different markets
- Insights help you find gaps in a competitor’s product, insight-based communication make a brand stand out. Insights evolve with time. Insights don’t always come from boatloads of data, even observing people and their problems can help you with new opportunities.
- Example Quoted: Indigo paints first created a foothold in the interiors of India having cracked the code to their hearts.
Quote: “A company’s strategy is never static; it should perpetually adapt and evolve throughout its journey.”
13. Start-ups must refrain from creating too many brands in the beginning
- Creating multiple brands needs a lot of time, effort and resources. So until your first brand generates significant revenue and is significantly poplar that customers buy it on a repeat you should refrain from creating another brand.
- Example Quoted: Rebel Foods created a global quick service restaurant brand for an Indian dish - wraps.
Quote: “In food, customers believe one brand = one flagship product.”
14. ESG and CSR are both important for brands.
- ESG and CSR help create a positive image and perception of a company in the minds of the public.
- Example Quoted: SIRONA is revolutionizing period hygiene for women. Its CSR initiative aims to remove period poverty from India.
Quote: “Our foundation’s main goal is to make sure that every woman and girl can have a healthy life without feeling ashamed because of their periods.”
Who Should Read It?
Author Background
Harsh Pamnani is a branding expert and storyteller who has worked with startups and multinational corporations. His deep understanding of the Indian startup ecosystem and his ability to distill complex branding concepts into relatable stories make this book a valuable resource for readers.
If you're looking to transform your startup from just another name in the market into an unforgettable brand, this book provides a convincing roadmap.
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