Welcome to the first post of the Small Business Branding Made Easy Series. By signing up for the series you will receive several emails that will help you discover how to successfully brand yourself and your small business for success.
What is Small Business Branding and how can it help your business?
An ad in the newspaper, a billboard, some business cards and a stack of well-designed flyers used to be enough to get your small business noticed. But with our digital world today those things should not be your first line of advertising; Not only because of price, but because it is not easy to measure essential metrics that will help you build great and targeted advertising.
Your first task as a startup or small business is to establish your businesses brand online. If you do not do this correctly the chances are you will be quickly be overshadowed by your competitors; And even worse, never get noticed by your customers.
Small Business Branding is highly important
Branding is one of the most important aspects of any business regardless of if that business is big, small, retail, B2C (business to consumer) or B2B (business to business). When done right business branding will give your small business a major edge over your competitors and can help you stand out in even the most competitive markets. Effective branding is about the overall image of your business; Contrary to popular belief small business branding is about much more than a great logo and a catchy tagline. Good business branding is about the perceived image of your business and what it can do for the customer.
Branding tells your customers what to expect
A good business brand tells consumers what they can expect from your products and services, and sets you apart from your competitors. Small business branding is derived from who you are, what you want your business to be and what people perceive it to be. Think of it like a promise you make to your customers.
Branding helps you to be consistent over Multiple channels
A good branding strategy includes multiple aspects that paint a picture of your business to consumers across multiple channels. This can and should include your website, social channels, blog content, marketing adverts and creatives etc. The goal is to make it easy for consumers to recognize your business the instant they see it no matter where they are looking.
Business Branding gives your company an identity
Branding relates to anything that gives your company an identity that consumers can get to know, like and trust.
The goal with small business branding is to differentiate your business from your competitors. This process should start as soon as your business has a name and should be factored in on every decision you make from your logo and tagline to your content and advertising. You need to come up with something memorable that explains your brand promise.
For example, M&M says, “Melts in Your Mouth, Not in Your Hands” we immediately know what they are all about. You can go anywhere in the world, see their logo and know exactly who they are.
Think like a big business
You may not be that big – yet, but you need to try and think like you are; This will help you come up with creative ways to brand your business that is easily remembered and recognized by your potential customers.
You need to be distinctive
Distinction is a very important part of your brand strategy. It lets people know you have something unique to offer that is above and beyond what your competitors can offer. Your branding impacts sales. You will see better sales and results by creating a brand that is easily recognized and remembered (in a good way ofcourse).
TASK
The first step to successful business branding is taking the time to let people know who you are, what you do, and how you do it. I want you to take some time to think about how you want your customers to perceive your business.
Start by listing the following details:
- Your business’s mission. What is your business’s mission?
- The benefits and features of your products or services.
- What do your customers and prospects already think of your business?
- List the qualities you want people to associate with your business.
Once you have the above:
- Do some research on your competitors and see how they present their brands.
- Brainstorm some ideas that will help you effectively communicate your vision.
- Jot down some possible taglines that you think will convey your story/uniqueness. Write these ideas in the comments – we love to hear and help out.
If you have multiple products or services, it is best to decide on an overall theme for your business with a great tagline, but you will also need to do the same for each of your products – just ensure you keep to your business theme when doing this.
