When you’re a small ship sailing in a sea full of sharks, your chances of survival are pretty bleak. An experienced captain would use the protective gear to ensure you reach your destination safe and sound.
In the corporate climate, a small business resembles this boat. It takes vigor and courage to create a distinct identity for your business amid the saturated market. This is where you must deploy protective gear, i.e., the branding strategies.
By definition, branding involves practices in which a company creates a symbol, name, or design relevant to the company. It isn’t tangible.
It makes a lasting impression on consumers and allows them to know what to expect. For example, you might think the golden arches on McDonald’s logo were the brand. But that is a tangible visual element for the intangible commitment McDonald’s makes to its consumers.
Essentially, working on your brand as a small business enhances your company and sets on a growth path. Turning an ordinary logo into a well-known identity takes time and ceaseless effort. According to Smallbiztrends, 95% of small businesses aimed to increase their marketing budgets in 2019. They fully understand that branding efforts mean nothing if you don’t do it the right way.
If you haven’t considered branding your small business, now is the time to get started. Here are a few steps you can work on:
Define your brand identity
As mentioned earlier, branding defines who you are as a company. It comprises your values, mission statement, and how you treat your customers.
Write a Great Mission Statement
Your mission statement allows developing a perception around your brand. Ask yourself the following questions when working on it:
# How does your company serve its customers?
# How does your work culture impact employees?
# What does your business do for authorities?
# How do you impact the community?
# What does your business do for the global benefit?
Once you find answers to each, compose three to six sentences to craft your mission statement. Now you can use it on all platforms and for internal staff guidance.
Imperatives research found that mission-driven employees are 54% more likely to stay at a company for five years and 30% likely to improve their performance.
Write a Powerful Vision Statement
Your vision statement gives a sneak peek into the probable future of the company. It describes what you want to achieve for the community in the long-run. Ask yourself the following questions when creating it:
# What effect does the company have on the community and the entire world?
# How will my business interact with the customers?
# What is it like for employees to work for us?
Ideally, it should only be a couple of sentences. Once you’ve answered the questions, weave an inspiring statement. It helps all stakeholders work for the same motive.
Get Visual with Branding
Once you’ve finally nailed down the statements, work on your visual style guide. This step is as crucial for a small business as it is for a larger entity. Below are a few things you’ll need in your arsenal:
A brand style guide
Also known as a brand book, it is an absolute necessity. It dictates which fonts, colors, and designs to infuse. The purpose is to pull together all of your visual and messaging requirements into a lively and breathing branding document.
A brand style guide is a fantastic way to organize your design details. Everyone working on the brand can come up with concepts that fall in line.
A logo
Your logo will be the face of your company. Its visual impact goes a long way towards building brand recognition. As stated by Canva, 10 to 20 principles of designs exist when it comes to logo design. No wonder that you need a pro team, such as the logo design valley, to work out a flawless logo for your small business.
Crucial to an effective logo design is capturing the message and value proposition of the brand. It turns into the most powerful communication tool if designed well.
A Business Card
If you’re in business, you need a business card. The design should match the logo as well as other design assets.
A Website or Social Media Platform
Digital real estate harbors most profit for companies these days. When people visit your virtual channels, it should be consistent with other branding components.
Establish Your Expertise
You don’t have to throw a lot of money to hit the right audience. There is a better and much easier way trending nowadays, i.e., content marketing. It can help you:
# Get a competitive advantage over companies who are not using it yet
# Establish and maintain a successful brand identity to connect with the audience
# Create trust-worthy and long-term relationship with customers
# More exposure to products/services without huge investments
# Position yourself as a thought leader for customers and competitors
According to Hubspot, only 37% of businesses claim to have a content marketing strategy in place. So, by creating and executing a content marketing strategy, you can potentially gain a definite edge over your competition.
The key to achieving success in content strategy is to choose the right content. Research the market to find out what questions customers are asking. Then create a killer blog article, video, or infographic image to address their concerns.
The point being, there is tons of information about your industry that people are willing to know. You dont have to be promotional with every piece you put out there. You can add value by answering their questions. It builds trust, and trust converts to business.
Ending Remarks
When you study more on the subject, you’ll conclude how branding is not rocket science. With skilled hands onboard and a little testing, now and then, you can carve a brand by the help of brand marketing agency that gains massive support. There will be bumps and pitfalls along the way. Don’t let them force you to give up.
Instead, be a ninja and keep swimming in the corporate waters. We hope you stay afloat and succeed!
