Competing with larger, more established businesses can be hard - that's where creating a strong and recognisable identity through your branding can help.
As a small or medium-sized business owner, you know how difficult it can be to compete with larger businesses. You often receive less attention than large businesses, have smaller budgets, fewer resources and perhaps less experience. So how do you stand out amongst the crowd?
Your brand.
Creating a strong, recognisable identity can help you stand out from the competition. A strong brand plays a major part in the success of any business, no matter how big or small. Creating and maintaining a successful branding strategy can be tricky, though, especially for small businesses on a tight budget.
Here are seven tips to help you create a powerful brand:
Tip #1 - Define your target audience
Defining a target customer should be the number-one step you take when starting to consider your business' branding. What this means is creating a detailed persona of your ideal customer. This will give you a focus when designing your branding style.
Don't worry, it isn't as difficult as it might first sound! You can start small with demographics such as age, gender, location, and income. Then you can expand your persona by adding their tastes, needs, and desires.. By the end, you’ll have a solid reference point to come back to whenever you need to make a visual branding decision.
Tip #2 - Define your values
Defining your business' value and then communicating that value to clients is one of the most important parts of creating your brand. If you can't articulate what makes your business unique and why clients should choose you over the competition, then why would anyone choose to work with you? You need to consider what makes your company unique and what your core values and principles are. Defining these early on will help you stay true to your brand identity as you grow.
Tip #3 - A strong name
Undoubtedly one of the single most important steps in creating your brand is deciding on a name. Finding the right name for your business can have a significant impact on your success. The wrong name can do worse than fail to connect with customers; it can also result in insurmountable business and legal hurdles. In contrast, a clear, powerful name can be extremely helpful in your marketing and branding efforts.
There are lots of factors to consider when choosing a name for your small business. You'll want something memorable, unique, and relevant to your industry or product. You'll also want to ensure that it's not hard to spell or pronounce and isn't limiting as your business grows. It's also essential to make sure the name is available as a domain name and trademarked (if needed).
"Finding the right name for your business can have a significant impact on your success."
Tip #4 - Carefully consider your visual identity and style
Your logo, colour palette, typography, and imagery should all work together to create a cohesive look and feel for your brand. Your logo in particular is one of the most important elements of your branding strategy. This consistency will help customers easily recognise your business across different touchpoints.
Don't forget to refer back to your target audience and consider the kind of visual identity and style that will resonate with them.
Having a style guide or so-called brand guidelines can help to ensure that all communications are consistent. This makes it easier for customers to remember who you are and what you stand for. It's also helpful for when you need to outsource work to marketing consultants such as JB Marketing as we can instantly get a handle on the business' visual and brand identity and ensure all the marketing materials we produce fall in line with your branding.
Tip #5 - Brand identity
Your brand identity is more than just a logo, style guides, marketing materials, or colour palettes. Your brand identity is the culmination of how your brand looks, feels, and speaks to customers. It influences the entire customer experience and ultimately affects how others view your credibility and business.
A strong and recognisable brand helps to set your business apart from the competition and can help you attract new customers and keep them coming back. Your brand should be instantly recognisable to people, so they remember you and they come to know what they're getting when they purchase your product or service.
Think about brands you know - Coca Cola, Apple, Premier Inn - their entire identity lies within their brand. You know before you even purchase anything from them exactly what your going to get and what they stand for. That's what you need to do for your business when creating a brand identity.
Everything from your logo, to your social media presence, to your marketing materials, to your website design and beyond should be aligned to your branding strategy.
Tip #6 - Be authentic
When it comes to small and medium-sized businesses, authenticity is key. You need to be genuine and open with your customers, and offer them products or services that are truly valuable. Don't try to be something you're not; customers can see through fake branding attempts and will be less likely to trust you in the future. Instead, focus on developing a unique voice and personality for your business that reflects who you are as a company.
Tip #7 - Recognise when you need help
You can't be an expert at everything! If you're a small or medium-sized business owner who is feeling overwhelmed, unsure of where to start, or just don't have the time when it comes to branding or marketing in general, don’t worry. Hiring an experienced marketing consultant can take the pressure off and help your business grow in ways you never thought possible. JB Marketing has over 12 years experience at helping businesses large and small with their marketing needs and we have the necessary expertise to help your business succeed.
About us
JB Marketing is a full service marketing consultancy based in Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire. With 12 years marketing experience, you can rely on us to provide innovative and intelligent marketing communications that are tailored to your audience and deliver real business benefits.
JB Marketing works with clients in a range of industries across a variety of marketing channels including social media, email marketing, event management, design & print, digital advertising, paid search, offline promo, copywriting and much more.
Some clients use us as an extension of their team, where as for others we’re trusted marketing advisors. However you choose to work with us, we always act as if we’re a part of your business.
Simply get in touch to find out more. We'll take care of everything for you, so you can focus on running your business.