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As a small business owner, you may think that brand building is only for Fortune 500 companies with enormous marketing budgets, not for your local company. In fact, branding can be a powerful strategy for a small business. Here are seven tips for beginning to build a small business brand.
Identify What Differentiates Your Business
Identify what sets you business apart and makes it the go-to option in your market. Your brand should be based on something distinctive that differentiates your business from the competition. Even if your product or service is not one-of-a-kind, there is probably a reason why you think customers should choose your business rather than a competitor's business. Do you save your customers time, simplify a complex process, provide an all-in-one service, provide premium customer service?
Have a Consistent Message
Make what sets your business apart central to its identity and to its brand. For example, if your service provides customers an all-in one service (not just dog grooming, but pet sitting, dog walking, training and vet visits as well), you could use a company name like All-in-One Pet Care, with a tagline, "We simplify your life" on all your marketing materials, including business cards, website, social network sites, letterhead, and signage to consistently communicate this positioning.
Create a Logo
A logo is an important component of brand building because it is a visual symbol of your company and what it stands for. A logo doesn't have to be fancy or complicated, but it should be relevant to your business, easy to duplicate on all marketing materials and distinctive.
Become the Face of the Brand
Become the face of your business. Whether your small business has one employee (you) or 50, you should be the face that customers and the community identify with it. Therefore, make brand building one of your responsibilities and one of your priorities.
Get Employees on Board
Be sure that employees understand and support your small business's brand. Positioning your business as providing all-in-one service or as a time-saver for customers won't work unless employees not only understand that positioning but reinforce it with their actions. Therefore, educate them about the importance of the brand and how they can support and build it.
Plan a Public Relations Campaign
Plan a strategy to increase your brand's visibility in your community and to communicate your brand message. Join one or more high-profile community groups (and, even better, take leadership positions), make speeches, write articles, put out press releases, get to know business reporters at your local paper and alert them to significant developments at your business, start a blog and make regular posts about topics relevant to your business, and use your website and social media sites to communicate your message. Also, become known as a good citizen. For example, your business could become a sponsor of a local sports team or of a fund-raiser.
Keep at It
Building a brand is a long-term process, so don't get discouraged if you don't feel like you are making progress after six or nine months of effort. Keep at it and be consistent. The key is to reinforce your message through repetition, consistency, and visibility.
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