Branding is one of the most crucial parts of all businesses – regardless of the business size. The true power of branding is often taken for granted, even though many small businesses understand the importance that it has.
The heart of every business is not only its people but its brand. It is a way of defining your business to yourself, your employees, and your audience. Most people only view branding as simply being their business’s identity. However, branding actually symbolizes the core values of the business itself, not just the overall appearance. If your branding is not clearly defined, your business can come across to the audience as insincere. You want to connect with your audience on a personal level. To put it simply, you want to appeal to customers that share the same values and beliefs as your brand. A brand that has a strong brand and a solid identity can promote loyalty and advocacy among the audience, which is something that your brand should strive for.
By implementing a few tactics and making a few adjustments to your current strategy, you too can create a strong brand for your small business. Listed below are some tips that will help you to build a strong brand for your business:
1. Understand Your Brand
The key to creating a strong brand is to get to know it first. Consider the product or service that your business offers, determine the market it is in, and figure out your customers’ needs and concerns.
2. Give Character to Your Brand
Just like humans, your brand’s character should be made up of beliefs, values, and goals that make it stand out from the crowd. Each person has their own personality which dictates their behaviour in various situations. The same notion also applies to your brand. This is why it is imperative that you truly understand your brand’s character.
3. Define the Purpose of Your Brand
Think about what your brand is hoping to achieve. In other words, define the purpose of your brand. This is so that you are able to establish where your brand stands and the direction in which it should go.
4. Strive For Long-Term Relationships With Customers
The key to having a successful brand is to maintain long-term relationships with customers. Honesty is the base of any relationship. Therefore, you need to be clear on who your brand is and stay true to that when you interact with your customers.
5. Use a Consistent Voice
The way that you speak to your customers says a lot about the type of character your brand has. By using a consistent tone of voice, your customers will gain a better idea of your brand’s character. This way, they will know what to expect from your product or service.
6. Be Authentic
It can be tempting to want to try to imitate successful brands. However, you want to establish a unique and distinctive identity for your brand. In fact, many corporate brands are attempting to appear more like small companies to attract customers that prefer independent establishments. That being said, the best thing that you can do for your brand is to be authentic so that genuine connections can be developed.
7. Be Unapologetically Yourself
One of the perks of running a small business is the ability to be flexible. Unlike large corporations that restricted by layers of decision-making officials, you can adapt to cater to the ever-changing needs of your customers. The point is that you should never try to be something that you are not.
8. Stay True to Your Branding
In the highly-competitive world of business, there might be times that you consider cutting down prices to steal customers from your competitors. However, doing so can weaken your brand positioning and potentially ruin what you have already established with your branding. Instead of offering discounts, it is better to come up with new promotions to highlight your brand’s identity.
9. Don’t Give Everything Away
Branding is much more than just plastering your logo on everything. Instead, leave some room for your customers to find out more about your brand themselves. This way, your customers will be more curious and intrigued about your business. As they uncover what your brand is all about, they too can become your ambassadors in sharing what they have found.
If you’re looking for help with your business branding, schedule a consultation with us today! We’re happy to help.
