How to Build a Successful Brand with a Small Business

As a small business owner, you probably know exactly what your business is all about, including your goals and target audience. But successfully communicating those things to the people who need to know is an entirely different story. No matter how great your product or service is, or how savvy you are at running a business, it’s no good if you don’t have a brand. Your brand isn’t simply a website or a logo that you slap on some promotional products; it flows through every single thing you do and is an important factor in building authenticity and trust among your clientele.

Where to Start

To build your brand, you need to create an identity. Define what you’re about and what you do in your industry. You don’t have to make it public yet, so consider it a brainstorming session. The more questions you answer, the more authentic you’ll be. Questions can include:

• What are our values?
• How/where do we excel with our product or service?
• Why should anyone purchase our product or service?
• With whom do I want to do business?
• Where do I want to conduct my business? Locally or globally?

You’d be surprised by how many businesses start out without answering these questions in detail and end up aiming higher or lower than they’re able to reach. Stop and think about the needs of your intended audience, and focus on connecting with that audience first.

Focus on Distinguishing Yourself from the Competition

Assuming that you’ve researched your competition, you should have a general idea of what you offer that your competition doesn’t. Communicate that message in a way that is respectful but factual. For example, “We sell custom uniform work shorts that never wrinkle, no matter how active your employees are.” Your target audience likely knows the difficulty of finding quality work shorts that look professional and will understand the underlying fact that wrinkle-resistant shorts are hard to find.

Don’t Lose Sight of the Human Element

When starting a new business venture, it can be easy to get caught up in the finances. Building a small business from the ground up is the dream of many people who are passionate about what they do and are confident that they can do it. But they need money to be successful, and it is easy to forget that actual humans are at the other end of the sales transactions you want so badly. Don’t forget that your customers have values and needs, and they need to connect with you to remain loyal customers. Therefore, you need to stay connected with them to show that you’re human, too.

Social media helps with engagement, as does volunteering in your community and proving that you care about more than your bottom line. While you’re at it, consider giving out useful promotional items such as branded company bags, which are a great way to get your name out there.

Be Unique

Don’t simply copy what other big brands are doing. More and more people are turning away from massive “we sell everything in the world” retailers and are instead turning toward more niche businesses that take pride in what they do and make. In doing so, they know they’re getting something of value. Do what you can to distinguish your brand from the rest, and point out what you do differently in your mission statement, on your website, and on social media.

Ensure Your Employees Know Your Brand

You can talk until you’re blue in the face about how much you value your customers, but if you have an employee who is unaware of what your brand is about, you can easily lose the trust you’ve worked so hard to achieve. For example, let’s say you vowed to offer supreme customer service, but a customer hasn’t received a product, even after it was promised by a certain date. As a result, the customer has to contact a customer service representative, who reads from a script without much empathy for the customer’s situation. That customer will always remember that interaction and will associate your brand with that one bad experience. Make sure every single one of your employees understands your mission and consistently acts as the face of your brand.

Be Smart About What You Put Your Logo On

Make sure your promotional items represent your brand. For example, if you specialize in flavored coffee cups, you might want to hand out custom company mugs with your brand’s logo stamped on them. In contrast, something like a shot glass might not be appropriate for your audience. Make it relevant so they remember you the next time they need your product or service.

No matter what your vision or message, make sure you remain consistent. Before simply rushing into making sales, take the time to truly develop your brand. You don’t want to find out a year down the line that you should have done things differently. It is much more difficult to attract a customer base after you have to change your message, thus confusing the customers who have already learned to trust you.