Why branding is essential for small businesses

Marketing, Small business1 comment

The first thing that many people do when they set up in business is rush out and get some business cards and then design a website.  Many of us have done this (me included!) but very often we haven’t really thought about how the cards and website represent our business.  The first question we should have asked ourselves is – “what is our brand?”

A lot of people think that branding is just for large corporations, eg Coca Cola, Nike, Virgin, etc.  However, anyone in business who is marketing their services or products to others needs to have a brand identity.  So how do you go about doing this?

First of all think about what your business stands for?  Do you represent high quality products and exceptional customer service or are you promoting yourself as one of the cheapest on the market?  Whatever it is, your branding needs to be consistent with your business activities.

The same message must run through everything you do, whether it is your website, business cards, presentations or marketing campaigns.  Don’t think it’s just about designing everything with the same colour scheme and logo. For example, if you have a website or blog written in a very chatty, laid back style but, in person, you dress and speak very formally then the message is inconsistent.  This means that people won’t get a connection with you because they are confused about what you represent.

So here are 5 top tips for creating a brand for your business:

• Be clear. Your branding should reflect your values.  For example, what does your business stand for and how do you want it to be known?
• Be consistent. As mentioned, make sure that there is consistency with your website and materials and also the image you are portraying as an individual.  Remember that you represent your business so how you come across needs to fit in with your brand identity.
• Be relevant. The content you put out must be relevant to your target market.  Whether it’s your website, blogs or social media updates, think about how they come across to other people and whether it is something they want to read.
• Be yourself. Don’t try to be something you’re not – people will quickly see through you and they are less likely to believe in you both as a person and as a viable business.
• Be focused. Think about how your brand fits in with your business goals.  Will your current branding still be relevant 5 years down the line?  Your business will probably need to adapt over time but your core branding should remain the same.

This is just a brief overview of how to build a brand.  As you can see, branding is an essential part of your overall identity.  Make sure that it fits in with the image you want to portray so that your target market knows what to expect when they do business with you.