At Communiqué PR, we often have the opportunity to work with clients who are in the early stages of establishing their company in the marketplace. In today’s competitive environment, launching a new business and capturing customer mindshare is no easy feat. Especially considering when “the rise of business startups reached their highest level in 14 years in 2009 despite the recession and record unemployment,” according to the findings in the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity issued in May 2010. Given this, what are the key components to launching a solid brand that will break through the competition, capture the attention and loyalty of your customers and ultimately drive revenue?

The Wall Street Journal recently featured a story with answers to this exact question provided by five members of the Young Entrepreneur Council. Each member provided strong tips and suggestions on how to leverage social media to build brand awareness, creating a long-term strategy and a brand name that will connect with your customers. However, it was the tip provided by Tina Wells, founder of Buzz Marketing Group that is the cornerstone of developing a solid brand: “Understand your customers and focus on creating messages that make an impact.”

When developing key messaging for your brand, it is critical to understand who your customers are and what motivates and resonates with them. As Tina suggested, “begin with research – both qualitative and quantitative.” Also, identify what your company’s mission and values are, its strengths and weaknesses and even personality. You have most likely already identified who your competitors are, but what are they communicating and how does it differ from what you provide?

When we begin working with a new or emerging company, our team first asks “what are the key messages?” If our client is not able to articulate them or suggests their current messaging needs to be re-developed, we often recommend conducting a messaging workshop to help them come up with the right language to wow their market. To do this, we engage in meaningful discussions with key executives, as well as conduct extensive industry and customer research to identify all of necessary proof points. Once complete, we synthesize our findings to create a powerful positioning statement, effective supporting messages and a story arc.

Positioning statements should be concise, powerful and persuasive statements that enable customers to immediately identify a company’s offering, benefits and value. First impressions are everything, so it is important to make every word count. Your supporting key messaging will include proof points or facts that will prove your brand’s value to a customer and distinguish it from a competitor.

What is your company’s positioning statement and key messages? Does it effectively communicate your company’s value while also differentiating you from your competitors? Does it resonate with your customers? Are your own employees able to succinctly articulate your brand’s attributes? If your messaging is not effective, understand the reasons why and redefine your key messaging to incorporate those findings.

Let’s take for example, Apple, Inc. When the company decided several years ago to give their logo a more modern look, it not only prompted the business to change its name from “Apple Computers” to “Apple, Inc.,” but also redefine its key messaging to illustrate the company’s imagination, innovation and design. Today, the messages are not only conveyed throughout their media relations efforts and marketing communications, but are also demonstrated in their retail stores and employees.

Once you have a complete messaging framework in place, your brand can be consistently positioned across all channels of communication whether through your marketing materials, public relations efforts or social media. Also, it is important to ensure all of your employees are familiar with the new messaging. They are your first brand advocates and their word of mouth will be that much more powerful if they are able to clearly communicate your brand effectively.