Branding 101 — ( Inexpensive Edition)

You might assume that branding is something best left to the Apples, Googles, and McDonald's of the world, as a small business owner. But the truth is that regardless of how big (or tiny!) our firm is, if you’re in business, you need to think about branding.

Larger businesses have more money to spend on branding. However, you don’t need an Apple-sized bank account to start from scratch with a successful branding plan. There are many things you can do to help your business stand out, attract customers’ attention, and make a lasting impression on them without breaking the bank.

Let’s look at five branding strategies that will help you grow your small business. Here’s how you can brand your company:

1. Establish your brand’s identity

Branding entails more than slapping a logo on your website. Your branding is who you are as a company; it’s your values and mission, how you treat your customers, and how your visual assets appear and feel. So, before you can go on to the more practical aspects of your branding strategy (like developing your logo), you must first figure out who you are as a business — or, in other words, your brand identity.

The procedure is divided into several steps:

Discover who you are.

It’s great if you already know who you are as a brand, but it’s perfectly fine if you don’t. It’s simply time for some corporate soul-searching.

Deeper inquiries might help you understand out who you are as a brand, as well as who you want to be. When creating your brand identity, consider the following questions:

👉🏽 What three words would I use to describe my company if I had to?
👉🏽 In the marketplace, what do I want to be known for?
👉🏽 What are the primary missions and values of my company?
👉🏽 What type of impact do I want to have in my field?

The more you know about who you are and what you stand for, the easier it will be to incorporate that identity into your branding — and the more your brand will stand out and attract customers as a consequence.

Determine who your target market is.

It may seem simple, but many small businesses are so focused on figuring out who they are and what sorts of products or services they want to provide that they entirely overlook figuring out who they’re trying to sell those products or services to — and as a result, their branding suffers.

Spend some time defining your ideal client. What are their names? What are their ages? What is their level of income and education? Is there a predominance of one gender? What qualities do they want in the companies with which they do business? What is important to them? When do they intend to use your product or service, and why do they require it?

When you know who your target market is, you can use that information to influence your branding approach, resulting in a brand that actually resonates with the people you want to engage with.

Create your P.O.D (Your Special Sauce brand)…

Chances are, whatever your company does, there are already other businesses doing the same thing. So, if you want your company to stand out, you must first determine what makes it unique.

Your point of difference is the feature that distinguishes your company from the competition (or P.O.D). Your P.O.D is what makes you unique; it’s what makes a customer choose your company over your competitors to do business with — and it should be incorporated into every aspect of your branding approach.

It’s not necessary for your P.O.D to be revolutionary. Consider it this way: if your company is a Big Mac, your P.O.D is the “special sauce” that distinguishes you from the competition. Do you solely utilise ingredients that are ethically sourced in your products? Are you known for having the greatest customer service in the industry? Has your family owned and operated a business that has been serving the community for several generations? Whatever it is, discover out what makes your company unique — and include that P.O.D into your brand identity.

But also figure out what’s working in your field.

You want your logo to stand out and be unique. However, if you want to have the most successful branding approach, you’ll need to keep an eye on what’s working (and what isn’t) in your business.

Take a look at what your competitors are up to. Do you see any patterns? Let’s imagine you’re starting a new financial consulting firm, and you see that all of your competitors’ logos have neutral colour palettes, or that all of their marketing efforts are focused on Facebook rather than Instagram. While you clearly don’t want to copy or rip off your competitors’ branding, keeping an eye on industry trends can help you figure out what’s working (and what’s not) with your target market, so you can tailor your brand identity accordingly.

2. Make your branding more graphic.

It’s time to start developing your brand after you’ve identified who you are, who your customers are, what makes you unique, and what’s working in your industry. This phase is just as important for small firms as it is for larger corporations.

Here are a few items you’ll need to build your brand’s appearance and feel:

A style guide for your brand. It’s crucial to work out the finer points of your design strategy, such as your brand’s colour palette, fonts, and design do’s and don’ts, before you start developing. A brand style guide is a terrific method to keep track of design elements and ensure that you, your designer, and anybody else working on your brand are all on the same page.

It’s a logo: Your logo is the face of your business; it’s the first thing most customers see when they come across your brand, and it’s the visual asset that will be most strongly associated with your firm. The first thing you should design is a logo, as it will serve as the starting point for all of your other visuals (like your website and your business cards).

Business card: You’ll need a business card if you’re in business, and the design should match your logo and other design elements.

A Web Page: Your website is like a piece of digital real estate for your firm, and the look and feel should be consistent with the rest of your branding when people visit it.

Additional branding materials (such as product packaging or corporate letterhead) may be required depending on your business, but the most important thing to remember? The appearance, feel, and design of your brand should be consistent no matter where a customer sees it — whether it’s via seeing your logo, visiting your website, or trying out one of your goods in person.

When it comes to branding, if you’re not consistent, you risk confusing your customers — and if they’re confused, you risk losing them to the competition.

If you’re a brand, learn how marketing in METAVERSE can help you attract customers.

3. Use the correct content to establish oneself as a subject matter expert

You may not have a large advertising budget as a small firm. However, you don’t have to spend millions of dollars on advertising to get in front of the correct individuals. Content marketing is a better, easier, and more cost-effective approach to get your name out there.

Content marketing is effective on a variety of levels. First, it allows you to demonstrate your industry expertise; by establishing yourself as a go-to resource and subject matter expert in your sector, your audience will learn to trust you — and you’ll be the first firm they think of doing business with when the time comes.

Content marketing is also a good tactic because it allows you to improve your brand image. You emphasise who you are and what you’re about to your clients by building a strong brand voice (and then carrying that brand voice throughout your content), which improves the relationship and helps to drive business.

The correct content is the key to success when employing content as a marketing tactic. Conduct research to determine the types of queries your customers are posing, and then develop content to address those concerns.

Let’s imagine you own a local bakery and, after doing some research, you discover that your clients are looking for bread-making recipes and tips. You might make a branded blog post or video that explains the fundamentals of bread baking, including the science behind it, the ingredients you’ll need, and how to achieve the right rise and crust. This type of information adds significant value to your readers.

The idea is that your customers wants and needs to know a lot of information about your sector. And if you can provide value and answer their questions through your content, you’ll earn their trust, which will lead to more business.

4. Seek out opportunities for collaboration.

People like to conduct business with well-known brands. However, if you’re a new company, developing trust can take some time. But what if there was a way to speed things up? Look for ways to collaborate with other companies that your customers already use.

Consider trust building by proxy: if your clients are introduced to your brand through a brand they already know and trust, they’ll be far more inclined to extend that trust to you — and give you their business as a result.

What is the key to this strategy’s success? Finding clients with similar — but non-competitive — audiences is a good way to start. As an example, suppose you’re launching a new energy bar aimed towards endurance athletes. Consider partnering with local events to put your bars in their prize bags, leaving samples at local running stores, or writing guest posts on famous endurance blogs. All of those businesses cater to the same demographic as you — endurance athletes — but none of them are direct competitors, making them considerably more eager to collaborate with you.

5. Become a Superhero

It’s not enough to speak the talk in today’s hyper-competitive market; you must also live the walk.

It’s not only about your logo, marketing methods, or how you catch client’s attention; it’s also about what you do once you’ve made a connection with them. The most crucial aspect of your branding is your reputation, as well as what customers say behind your back.

As a result, if you want to succeed in the long run, you must become a superhero for your consumers and make customer service your top priority.

Consider that for a moment. What better way to make a name for yourself than by offering the best possible service to your customers? If your customers have a pleasant experience with your brand every time they connect with it, they’ll keep coming back — and telling their friends about it.

One thing to remember is that customer service encompasses more than just one encounter or department. If you genuinely want to live and breathe customer service, you must continually give your customers a pleasant experience no matter how, when, or why they interact with your brand.

Look for ways to improve the customer experience in your company. Is it difficult to make a purchase on your website? Redesign the layout to make it more user-friendly for your customers. Is it difficult to return something? To make the procedure easier and more easy, provide them with a pre-paid return label and explicit instructions.

Kickstart your Branding Strategy

You don’t have to spend a fortune to effectively brand your company. All you’ll need is a little imagination and some good, old-fashioned grit.

What’s left to do now that you’ve learned how to properly (and affordably!) brand your small business? Get out there and start branding yourself!

But, still if you need any help with your branding or marketing strategy, feel free to contact me here.

Read this to know, How to get your first 1000 customers.