What Every Small Business Needs to Understand About Small Business Branding

Every small business wants to have their own special brand that distinguishes them from other companies. However, most small business owners think that branding only applies to large companies and well known corporations. Look at some of the famous brands on the market today like Levis, Procter and Gamble, Coke, and many more. These companies and even other large corporations with a single brand obviously once started as small businesses. With small business branding, anything is possible.

Small business branding is all about building a reputable and recognizable identity unique to your business. By creating a brand of your own, your customers will easily differentiate your company from competitors. Your brand will also tell customers about the products and services you offer and what makes them different from other companies.

So What Makes Your Small Business Successful?

This is the beginning. When you think of your small business’s success, what are you considering? Are you talking about the product, the service or the customer service you offer to your customers? A brand is built on a reputable, popular, and quality product or service and customer service. This is where you should begin promoting.

Design and Logo

When customers think “brand” they often think of a particular image, design, or logo. This is very important because visual representation can captivate the eyes of the customers and make it easy for them to recall your small business in the future. Make sure that your logo is unique and it is related to your business and the products or services that you are offering. Be careful not to design a logo that can easily be confused with a competitor’s or that it doesn’t infringe or violate another business’s copyright.

Advertising and Promotion

Consistency, consistency, consistency. Whether it is a time of prosperity or a time of hardship, small businesses should always be consistent in their promotion and advertising. Small businesses new to advertising and promoting should start with simple advertising methods that are meant for small budgets. Be sure to use toll free numbers on your business cards, website, social media sites, etc. because customers always look for contact numbers and other ways to communicate with you. Toll Free numbers are a very important component in small business branding. Customers will gain respect for you, trust you, and want to do business with you when they see you have a reputable brand.

Customer Service

You could have the best product or service ever but customers will not do business with you if you have poor customer service. Always remember that prosperity begins with a consistent and quality customer service. If you offer outstanding customer service, then advertising just became easier since a lot of your advertising is done for you already through word of mouth.

Public and Employee Relations

Public relations is all about building a relationship with your customers. You can start by supporting positive causes and events within your community. This is a great avenue for small business start ups as it’s a great way to get your name out there and there are little to no advertising costs associated with this. If your small business participates, it is already a great way to build your credibility.

While small businesses largely focus on branding to customers and public relations, don’t forget about the great talent on the inside that makes success possible. Employee relations is just as important as public relations. If employees enjoy what they do and enjoy working for you, then they will remain loyal to you, increase efficiency, and increase productivity. All this outgoing positive energy will be put back into your business and radiate success.

Small business branding certainly involves a lot of brainstorming, analyzing, planning, and strategy. It definitely requires a lot of time, effort, and some investment, but in the end the impact and output is an effective, highly reputable and recognizable brand, then this will only spell success for your small business.