Small Business Branding

In this article, Small Business Marketing - Brilliant Branding Builds Business, the author describes how valuable brand building is to your business.

by Wendy Maynard
Copyright 2006 Marketing Maven

Why Small Business Branding Matters

Branding is more than product recognition or a simple logo. It is the overall intellectual and emotional impression people have when they think of your company and its product. It is a strong and consistent message about the value of your small business.

A memorable and trustworthy small business brand reinforces customer loyalty. It helps them remember that your small business provides the perfect solution to their problems. Therefore, to succeed in small business branding you must understand your customers' needs and issues.

Small business brand building is an ongoing business strategy that has an easy-to-measure cost in time, money, and effort. Its value, on the other hand, is harder to establish because it involves measuring emotional associations that may not immediately translate into revenue.

Branding for small business is an essential element of success, however, and it should be reinforced during times when business is booming and when sales are slower. You want customers and potential customers to maintain a positive association with your company and its services.

You control the messages you send out through marketing, advertising, customer service, and your Internet presence. Small business branding is a combination of everything your company uses to present itself. Here are a few key elements to analyze and enhance in your branding strategy:

5 Key Elements of Small Business Branding

1. Professionally designed marketing materials (logo, stationery, ads, pens with logos and the like): These tell customers your company is strong, confident, and credible. Your marketing materials should reinforce your company's image and positioning over and over and over.

2. Consistency in advertising: Develop a tagline to succinctly describe your company - and use it! Develop a campaign that can provide different messages, but it recognizable as your brand.

3. Excellent customer service - always! Make sure your entire staff positively represents your business image.

4. A strong and professional website: It must be easy for viewers to navigate and understand. It should let visitors know what your company does and why they should care. Provide compelling, easy-to-understand, and interesting content. Make it easy for visitors to make purchases.

5. Differentiate your brand: Make sure your customers and potential customers understand why you are different from the competition. You want to establish a superior benefit with you target audience that encourages long-term loyalty.

Small Business Branding is not what you say about your company and products; it's about your customers' perception of your company and products. To strengthen your brand, make sure you can answer the following questions: What do you do that is different from anyone else? Why do you matter to your customers? If you can't answer these questions, you don't have an effective brand.

ACTION ITEM: Take a good look at your company and product/service strengths. Determine your primary strengths and benefits and then make sure your branding strategy (marketing materials, advertising, sales, customer services, logo, etc.) reinforces this. Simple, eh?

About the Author
Wendy Maynard, the Marketing Maven, publishes REMARKABLE MARKETING, a weekly ezine for business owners, freelancers, and entrepreneurs. If you're ready to skyrocket your sales, easily attract customers, and have more fun, get your FREE TIPS now at http://www.gomarketingmaven.com/ezine.html

Other related Personal Branding Articles:

Branding Builds Business
Branding Yourself As A Speaker

Now that you know that when it comes to your Small Busniess - Brillant Marketing Builds Business, see the links below for some more information.