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Branding For Small Businesses - Part 1

Guest post by: Jeremy Edsall

Article Overview: You don’t need to be a large corporation or franchise to incorporate branding into your business marketing. Many small businesses make the mistake of allowing others to determine the branding of their businesses resulting in mixed message for consumers. If you determine your brand at the start, your marketing communications will be more focused and obtain better results. Here are some branding tips to consider when starting your business.

Branding For Small Businesses - Part 1

Branding is an often overlooked part of starting a business but it can be a critical element in its future success. You've got a great idea for a business or think you have a better product or service, now how do you communicate this with your potential customers? If you haven't given branding consideration then you may be hindering the growth of your business when it's just beginning to grow.

Branding is the words or symbol that best represents your business and what it has to offer. It's what will associate you from other businesses providing similar goods and services. Like your own name represents you from any other male or female on the planet. If someone can't remember your name then they can usually describe you by the way you look, dress etc. Someone could say that burger place and you'd have no idea which one, but if they said the one with the big yellow arches then you'd probably know which one they were referring to.

Be careful what you portray in your branding

Your customers have choices. They expect that if a business says it provides a particular product or service then that is what will be delivered. If you say you provide quick efficient service, then your customers will not be expecting to wait in line. It would be wise then if you anticipate being busy avoiding the word quick in your business name for example, even if you are trying to compete with the "fast" guy down the street. Maybe he already made that mistake so his customers will be looking to you for an alternative solution.

Customers are quick, quick to determine if they'd been fed a line, or given an impression that you aren't all you portray. Customers are also quick to let others know that your business did not meet their expectations and are expressing their opinions increasingly on-line, in social networking sites, blogs and on consumer rating sites. While you're trying to build your customer base unhappy customers are trying to defer others from patronizing your business.

Be realistic in what your business will be able to provide and in what manner or time frame. Don't try to offer every product or service if you can only provide a few at first, It's better to under promise and over deliver because that is what your customers will rave about and pass along to others.

Branding should be the foundation of your business, and having a clear idea of who you are will make other decisions easier.

From the color of the paint on the wall to the way you answer the phone should all relate back to branding. Think cohesiveness, align everything to match the message you intend to send to your customers. Think in terms of design and design around the theme of your business, which is part of your branding message you are trying to convey.

An Italian restaurant probably wouldn't use blue tablecloths even if they are in the owner's budget for dining room decorating. Instead they would look for red and green items and things to remind customers of Italy. A good sense of what your business represents can lead to other creative ways to express that, further enhancing the message. Many Italian restaurants express themselves as being "a bit of Italy", this is often expressed by murals, flags and other geographical reminders, just as in Mexican and Chinese restaurants. It's all part of the customer experience that drives home that message that going to that restaurant is like taking a trip abroad.

Spending time developing your brand will get you started off in the right path and make your future marketing efforts more effective.

1. Start off Right- Think of a good name for your business, one that conveys in a few words what it is your business does. You may want to start with a mission statement first, then narrow that down to a good business name. Come up with several different ideas and then consult with friends and relatives to get their opinion.

2. Once you have a mission statement and a name choice try to determine a visual representation of your name. For some businesses this could be a literal image translation, for example "Big John's Tree Service" could be represented as a large lumberjack leaning on a tree. You may also want to see how similar businesses are represented by searching their logos and web sites. There are many useful articles on-line on the use of color, and which colors market the best.

3. Be consistent. Use your business image whenever and where ever possible. All you business communication should consistently use your business logo and business colors. Make sure your business cards, web site, stationary etc. all have the same look.

4. Make sure to use your image and colors in all advertising you do. Don't leave it up to someone else to develop your image for you. At the least make sure your logo, or colors can be used in any advertising.

Branding shows potential customers that you have a well thought out and organized business and that you intend to stay in business for a long time.

If you've just opened your business and are still learning the process of how you will interact with your customers, your first impression is the key. Be ready to conduct business on time and from the moment the door swings open. It always surprises me when a business door is locked when the sign says they are open, especially a new business, it says to me, we can't meet your needs.

Customers entering your business should get a sense of who you are and what you do. Customer service is a component of your branding and must meet your customer's expectations. The people you employ must also match, in look and dress, what your customer imagines them to be. I read an article once about employee dress codes , it mentioned that a well known restaurant chain prohibited its servers from having nose piercings due to the fact the in the customers mind they could imagine that at some point their finger had been used to place it there.

The environment should be all business, about your business and free from distractions and contradictions to what your customer expects to see. I once entered a small coffee house and immediately saw a display of motorized scooters, it seems the owner's son had a side business and had decided to set up a mini show room there in the middle of the room. This same business had a dog running about, not something I would recommend for a public eating establishment.

So consider the results you are getting from your marketing efforts and if unsatisfactory you may want to consider or re-consider your branding message. It may be time for a branding makeover.

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Article Tags: branding, business marketing, business mistakes, small businesses



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