I definitely agree with Hamish, but I want to push it even more. When you think of your business as a person, is it friendly or a rebel? Does it show up early, on time or make an entrance? Does it celebrate its own creativity or confrom to norms? These things Swill tell you a lot about your audience and how to interact with them.

Please see my simple examples below:
Normal: Chocolate cupcake with Chocolate frosting 
vs
Snobby: Swiss Chocolate cupake with Dark Chocolate Ganache
--
Ordinary: Chocolate filled Vanilla cupcake
vs.
Playful: Vanilla chocolate bomb cupcake

Play to your audience. Have personality that blends with your audience. Use that personality to set yourself apart from the competition.

Agree, particularly with point two. It is imperative to find that point of difference, something that makes your cupcakes really stand out. Then find voices who will testify to that - get some (at face value) impartial, third-party endorsements to say thing s like "yes it really is true - these cupcakes are the most innovative and tastiest I have ever come across..."

Then take it further, by projecting that point of uniqueness into the world - social media is a must, but do be aware you are likely to take some hits...and you must be proactive and keep the content coming, don't let things get stale (pardon the baking analogy).

Good luck with it!

I agree with Lauren and would add one more point - Give your brand an identity. To succeed your brand must be seen as a sentient being. It must evolve, remain true to itself and engage with people. To this end, you need to know who the brand is - or create its identity. Consider what it stands for (point 1 above), what makes it unique (point 2) and what the tone of voice is. This tone then influences everything you do, keeping the brand consistent and authentic - and ultimately this is what people will relate to. Happy to discuss this further if you want clarification.

Otherwise, good luck.

Hi Pamela,

I love broad questions. This one is especially broad because the factors you should be considering in creating your brand strategy are everything to do with the vision for your cupcake business. Hopefully the following may help a little :)

Brand Strategy is a big one when starting a business.

Many new business owners relate their brand strategy solely to their logo and website, when in reality it is so much more.

Brand Strategy for your cupcake business?

Think about the following and relate them to your individual business goals.

1. What do you do and who do you do it for?

Don’t just think about your cupcakes. Think about who will buy your cupcakes and why. Use that in your brand strategy.

2. Why would someone buy from you?

Think about why they should choose you over ‘ABC Cupcake Co.’ Find your (amazing) point of difference and save that to use in your brand strategy.

3. What Experience are you going to create?

Create an experience for your buyer. Create a way to make your customer remember how they feel when buying from you.

Now tie in all of these elements and create a brand that has a vision, knows who they are reaching out to and how you can help them. You can now come up with your brand identity in relation to your logo, website all the way down to your packaging and business cards.

Feel free to reach out for clarification, or if I can help you further.

Good luck in your cupcake venture!