Branding is the expectation that people have about you before they do business with you; and then the experiences they have when they do, that form your reputation. Great branding is far more than just design. For a brand to work it needs creativity, passion and purpose.
Branding is just as important for small businesses as it is for the large corporates. However, to be successful, business owners must learn to stand out, understand the fundamental brand building skills and how to stay relevant in this ever-changing environment we all live in.
The benefits that a clear brand strategy can bring are amongst many things, loyalty and ultimately higher sales. Below are 10 ways to start you thinking about your brand:
How to brand your business
- Define your brand
Take a look at the product or service that you offer and identify a place in the market where it would sit. Now research the needs, wants and concerns of your customers. - Think of your brand as a person
We are all individual with different needs, beliefs, values and drive which characterises who we are and how we behave in different situations and it’s fundamental that you have this understanding of your brands identity too. - What’s driving your business?
What’s the ethos, values and aspirations of your business? Which are the brands that you aspire to? All these factors help you to establish and capture the essence of the brand. - Build long term relationships with your customers
Understand what value you provide to your customers and ensure you maintain it without raising their expectations. It’s crucial to understand the customers experience as a journey with a long string of interactions, continually building trust and loyalty. - Speak to your customers with a consistent tone
Everything that your customer sees, feels, touches and experiences about your product and business must be consistent. You need to “control” everything your customer sees and hears about you, ensuring the story and message is consistent. This information gives your customers the ability to evaluate quality, value and what to expect from your product or service. - Don’t fixate with consistency
Repeating the same message in the same way over and over again is not showing your customers that your business in growing and moving forward, so make sure your key messages work in building your identity and show that you are flexible too. - Don’t copy the look of the bigger brands
Establish your own unique identity. At the moment we are seeing a big consumer trend towards independent businesses, so make sure you take advantage of this and attract customers looking for that original and authentic product or service. - Stand for what you believe in
Big brands are weighed down with bureaucracy which stops them from being flexible and reacting to the ever-changing needs of their customers. You don’t have this so make sure you take the bull by the horns and make those changes – be yourself and be unique. If you look the same as all the other options, it’s easy for the customer to pass you by. - Be consistent
When communicating always ensure your brand is consistent, especially when you are offering promotions. Think about the wider picture not just what you’re offering at any given time. Branding is the expectations people have about you before they do business with you and the experiences they have when they do that form your reputation. - Keep them coming back for more
Don’t give everything away at first glance, create some intrigue and think about how you can ensure people talk about your brand before and after they’ve finished the experience, this will generate loyal customers and keep them coming back for more.
At Thriving Brand we run a number of mentoring workshops to help you build your brand, these will help you to define your strategy, your narratives and who your brand is for. If that sounds exciting, please get in touch by email or have a look at our resources page which is growing all the time.