Last updated on March 18, 2017
What is a brand? A brand is your identity—what you’re known for; what customers think of when they hear your name; a brand is what you do.
Many things make up your brand. It’s not just a logo, nor is it just your tagline. It’s everything from customer experience to company culture to products and services. All of these things, and more, together comprise your brand. Great companies have great brands.
Whether your company is big or small, building a strong brand is crucial to your business.
Here are some tips for effectively building your small business’ brand:
Develop a plan and supporting strategy.
Knowledge is power, so gain insight and understanding into your company by doing research. Your plan and branding strategy should be research-driven and based on facts and data. This will help you define your brand.
As mentioned, your brand is made up of many different components. For starters, consider these questions and their answers in determining what your brand is: What is your company’s unique offering? What makes your company great? What is your “brand promise,” that is, what do you promise customers? Why do customers seek you out, and what makes them come back again and again?
Also consider who are your target audiences and how their wants, needs and interests factor in to what you are as a company and how you can deliver or cater to them based on those.
Having this information will help you define your brand, create a brand strategy and establish brand messaging that supports it all.
Create a really great logo.
Many make the mistake of thinking your logo is your brand. That’s incorrect. A logo is part of your brand, but your brand as a whole is so much more than just a logo. That said, a logo is still an important part of your brand. Creating a really great logo is integral to effectively building your brand.
A great logo stands out and helps increase your brand recognition and awareness of your brand. Get your logo out there and have it everywhere. From your business cards and delivery trucks to your website, your logo should be prominently placed.
Some traits of a great logo include:
- Unique: Stands out from the clutter and other logos.
- Fits your business: Serves as a good icon or visual for what your business is or offers. A great logo is a memorable one.
- Simple: Sometimes the best logos are the simplest. Think of the Nike “Swoosh” for example.
Stand out from the competition.
In determining what your brand is, you should have figured out your unique offering and what makes your company different from the competition. Use that information to your advantage in building your brand. You can do this in many ways, including customer experience, company culture and product or service offerings. Remember your brand promise, and stand out from competitors by always delivering that.
Be consistent.
Once you’ve developed a plan and a strategy, stick to it.
Be consistent in your messaging, your customer relations and management, and hold true to your brand promise. Remember your brand voice. Whatever the tone and style (e.g., conversational, formal, matter-of-fact, etc.) you’ve established for your brand, stick to it. Consistency and repetition contribute to a strong brand.
Be First to Comment