Branding for a small business does not defer from the business giants. The goal is the same for company identification and unique visibility. The magnitude of reach and the overall budget would be the factors that differ small business branding from conglomerates.
Benefits of Branding
Regardless of the size of the company, branding should be made to stay relevant and stay ahead of the competition. Some benefits of branding are:
- Recognition for a product or service
- Be different from the competition
- Establish customer loyalty
- Retention of company employees and business partners
There are no hard and fast rules to branding for a small business. There are fundamental steps that need to happen before the establishment of specific strategies:
Simple Steps to Small Business Branding
Know the customers and the reason why they buy the product or avail of the service.
Existing customer databases and market research can assist to identify the clientele. Even a small business has a unique customer base and when this is known, it would be easy to create a brand that appeals to the taste and requirements of clients.
Make a value proposition and see to it that this is known to the customers.
A value proposition is the brand promise. The product or service must be able to address the specific need of a customer. This is more than a slogan or a tagline. Customers must be confident to use a consistent, quality product or service.
Make a brand personality.
A brand personality includes logo, color, material, and any other combination of qualities and characteristics that attract customers and creates an emotional bond.
Use as many channels to promote the brand
Once the branding elements are established, the small business must distribute this to channels that are available. From a well made website to social media accounts, the brand must be visible. Product or service visibility at the least possible cost is goal for small businesses to increase revenues.
Consistency is a key factor.
A research made by a marketing firm, MarketingNutz, revealed that it takes 5 to 7 impressions before brand recognition can be achieved. The implication is that people need to see or hear about the brand several times before they can identify with the product or service. Consistency is vital for the marketing success of the small business.
As what can be seen above, building branding for small business may not be overwhelming and can just be made in some simple, easy to make steps. Refinements and improvements on these steps may be needed as the business progresses. The business must be flexible and determined to make branding a key factor for its success.
