As a small business owner, you might think that branding is something that’s best left to the Apples, the Googles and the McDonalds of the world. But the truth is, it doesn’t matter how big (or how small) your company is. If you’re engaged in commerce, you need to think about how you brand your business.
Larger companies may have larger budgets to spend on branding. However, you don’t need to spend big to build an effective branding strategy from the ground up. There are plenty of things you can do to help your business stand out, grab your customers’ attention, and make your business memorable without blowing your budget.
Let I Concept, your premiere branding agency Singapore, take you through some branding strategies that will help take your small business to the next level.
Define your brand identity
Branding is more than just a logo you slap on your website. Your branding is who you are as a company; it’s your values and your mission, it’s the way you treat your customers, it’s the look and feel of your visual assets. So, before you can move forward with the more tactical steps in your branding strategy (like designing your logo), you need to take the time to get really clear on who you are as a company. This, in other words, is your brand identity.
There are a few steps to the process:
- Figure out who you are
If you already have a clear idea of who you are as a brand, that’s great. But if you don’t, that’s okay too. It’s just time to do a little corporate soul-searching.
Asking yourself some deeper questions can help you figure out who you are, and what you want to be, as a brand. When defining your brand identity, ask yourself these questions.
- If I had to describe my company in three words, what would they be?
- What do I want to be known for in the marketplace?
- What are my company’s core missions and values?
- What kind of difference do I want to make in my industry?
The more clarity you get on who you are and what you’re about, the more you can infuse that identity into your branding, and the more your brand will stand out and grab customers’ attention as a result.
- Figure out who your target customers are
It might sound obvious, but there are tons of small businesses who put so much focus on figuring out who they are and what kinds of products or services they want to deliver, that they completely disregard figuring out who they are trying to sell those products or services to. And their branding suffers as a result.
Take some time to define your ideal customer. Who are they? How old are they? What kind of income and education do they have? Are they predominantly one gender? What are they looking for in the companies they do business with? What matters to them? When would they use your product or service, and why would they need it?
When you know who your target market is, you can use it to guide your branding strategy (and marketing strategy thereafter). And as a result, you will develop a brand that truly connects with the customers you want to work with the most.
- Establish your Point of Difference
No matter what your business does, chances are, there are already other companies doing the same thing. So, if you want your business to stand out, you need to figure out what makes it stand out.
The thing that makes your business different from your competitors is called your point of difference (or POD). Your POD is what makes you special; it’s what makes customers choose your company over your competitors, and it should be infused into every part of your brand strategy.
Your POD doesn’t have to be something that’s earth-shattering. Think of it this way: if your company is a cheeseburger, your POD could be a special secret sauce, something that makes your company and products uniquely you. Do you only use ethically sourced ingredients in your products? Do you have the best customer service in the business? Has your family business been serving the community for multiple generations? Whatever it is, figure out what makes your business stand out, and build that POD directly into your brand identity.
- Get clear on what’s working in your industry
You want your branding to stand out and be different. But if you want to have the most effective branding strategy, you also need to keep your finger on the pulse of what’s working (and what’s not working) in your industry.
Take stock of your competitors and what they’re doing. Do you notice any trends? For example, let’s say you’re launching a new financial consulting company. When you check out your competitors, you notice they all have neutral colour palettes in their logo design or they all focus their digital marketing efforts on Facebook instead of Instagram. While you don’t want to steal or rip off your competitors’ branding, taking stock of industry trends can give you a sense of what’s connecting with your ideal market, and you can build out your brand identity accordingly.
Get visual with your branding
Once you have defined who you are, who your customers are, what makes you special, and what’s working in your industry, it’s then time, to start designing your brand. This step is crucial for branding your small business as it is for larger business.
Here are a few things you will need to create the look and feel of your brand:
- A brand style guide. Before you start designing, it’s important to figure out the details of your design strategy, like your brand colour palette, fonts, and design do’s and don’ts. A brand style guide is a great way to organise your design details and make sure that you, your designer and anyone else working on your brand is on the same page with your brand’s direction.
- A brand logo. Your logo is like the face of your company. It’s the first thing your customers will see when they encounter your brand, and it’s the visual asset that will be most closely tied with your business. Your logo should be the first thing you design, as it will act as the jumping off point for all of your other visuals, such as your website design and your business cards.
- Brand website. Your website is like your company’s piece of digital real estate. When people visit your website, the look and feel should be consistent with the rest of your branding.
- Business cards and other collaterals. If you’re in business, you need a business card, and probably some letterheads and email signatures as well. The overall design should be consistent, matching and incorporating your brand logo, and through with all other design assets of your business.
The most important thing that you will need to keep in mind in the brand identity development process is, no matter where a customer encounters your brand – whether it’s by seeing your logo or visiting your website or checking out one of your products in store – the look, feel and design should be consistent. If you’re not consistent when branding your business, you risk confusing your customers. And if they are confused, you could lose them to the competition.
Establish yourself as a subject matter expert with the right content
As a small business, you might not have a huge advertising budget. But luckily, you don’t have to spend millions in ad dollars in order to get yourself in front of the right people. There’s a better, easier and more affordable way to get your name out there, and that’s through good digital copywriting and content marketing.
Content marketing works on so many levels. First, it gives you the opportunity to show off your industry expertise. By establishing yourself as a go-to resource and subject matter expert in your field, your audience will come to trust you. And when it comes the time for them to choose a brand to purchase or transact with, you’ll be the first place they go to.
Content marketing is also a great strategy because it gives you an opportunity to strengthen your branding. By developing a strong brand voice (and then carrying that brand voice throughout your digital copywriting), you reinforce who you are and what you’re about to your customers, therefore strengthening the relationship and helping to drive business growth.
And if you need another reason why content digital marketing is so effective for small businesses: it’s affordable. So, even if you are working on a tight shoestring budget, you can still make content work for you.
The key to success with using content as a marketing strategy is to create the right content. Do your research to figure out what kinds of questions your customers are asking, and then create content that answers those questions. Also, it helps you grow your digital audience.
For example, let’s say you own a local bakery, and after some research, you realise your customers are searching for recipes and guides to make their own bread. You can create a branded blog post or video that outlines the basics of bread making; the science behind bread, the ingredients you’ll need, and how to get the perfect rise and crust. That kind of content provides serious value for your audience – so, when the time comes when they want to actually go out and buy bread, you’ll be the first place they visit. (Because, let’s be real, making bread is quite a hassle.)
The point is, there are tons of information about your industry that your customers want and need to know. And if you can add value and answer their questions through your copywriting, you’ll build trust with those customers – and that trust will translate into business.
Be a superhero for your customers
If you want to truly stand out in today’s hyper-competitive market, it’s not enough to just talk the talk, you also need to walk the walk, too.
Your branding is about more than your logo, your marketing strategies, or how you grab customers’ attention. It’s about what you do once you’ve connected with those customers. The reputation you gain, and what customers say behind your back, are the most important part of your branding.
Which is why if you want to succeed in the long term, you need to be a superhero for your customers. Make living and breathing customer service your top priority.
Think about it. What better to be known for than providing the highest level of service to your customers? If your customers have a positive experience every time they interact with your brand, they will keep coming back. And they will also tell their friends about your business too.
One thing to keep in mind is that customer service is bigger than any single interaction or department. If you truly want to live and breathe customer service, you need to provide a consistently positive experience for your customers no matter how, when and why they interact with your brand.
Look for opportunities to improve customer experience within your business. Is it confusing to place an order on your website? Revamp the design to make it more intuitive for your customers. Is it a hassle to make a return? Send customers a prepaid return label and clear instructions to make the process easier and more straightforward. The point is, the better you can make your customer experience, the more you’ll be known as a company that cares about its customers, and the more customers you will get as a result.
Kickstart your branding strategy with I Concept
You don’t need to spend an arm and a leg to effectively brand your business. All you need is a little creativity and some good, old-fashioned hard work.
Need some help in crafting your branding and working on your digital marketing efforts? I Concept Singapore may be able to help with that!
We’re an integrated creative branding agency Singapore, specialising in helping small and medium enterprises and businesses craft and develop their brand stories and visual identities, helping them to grow.
With an understanding of your preferences and your business needs, our team of experienced strategists and designers will guide you to building and launching a digital branding strategy dedicated to your business, helping you reach your target audience. Get in touch with us today!
