As a small business owner, you may believe that “branding” is only for big businesses. Wrong! Having a strong brand is just as important for small or local businesses as for national brands (if not more so). Branding offers many benefits, including name recognition, a competitive edge and customer loyalty. This is important, because making loyalists out of just 5% more customers would, on average, lead to an increased profit per customer of 25-100%.
Even if you have a stellar product or service, your customers are only going to take you as seriously as you take yourself. Here are five ways you can build or strengthen your company’s brand:
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Create a mission and vision statement
No matter what size your business is, having a mission and vision statement is important. Without these anchors, your company will float aimlessly in a sea of competition. Focus on your present goals and objectives in your mission statement, and then describe your future goals in your vision statement. Then, use both of these to reference when building your complete brand.
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Develop an authentic look
Never underestimate the importance of a polished, cohesive look. Better yet, base that look (such as colors) on known style attributes for different target audiences to increase conversions. Put together a style portfolio with your standard logos, fonts and color schemes to reference for all your print and online media.
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Use specific brand language
Just like cohesive visuals are important, you’ll also want to keep your copy points consistent. What are your key messages, benefit statements and slogans? Write these down and reference them to use in all website copy and promotional work.
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Differentiate yourself from your competition
Find your target audience and discover what makes your company different through research and competitive or SWOT analysis. Once you discover what the point of differentiation is for your product or service, you’ll have a better understanding on how you should promote your business.
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Build a marketing or promotional strategy
You’ll need a marketing or promotional plan to introduce people to your brand and build brand loyalty. This might include advertising, or interaction with customers on your website or social media. Interestingly enough, 13% of people say that frequent interactions caused them to have a relationship with a brand.
Patience is key: Branding is an ongoing process, and one that can take years to implement successfully. If you need help with your small business branding strategies, reach out to us at SKYFALL BLUE.
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