Logo? Colour scheme? Typography? Personality traits? Marketing materials? Website? Written copy? Packaging? You’d be surprised how many small business owners get confused about what elements make up a ‘brand’. And that’s understandable given the myriad of responsibilities and tasks SMEs have to deal with day to day. But branding your small business doesn’t have to be really complicated.
Internationally-renowned marketing and branding guru Seth Godin perhaps sums it up most articulately:
“A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another. If the consumer (whether it’s a business, a buyer, a voter or a donor) doesn’t pay a premium, make a selection or spread the word, then no brand value exists for that consumer.”
But once your small business brand is defined, what are some of the most powerful ways in which we can execute it? In our experience simplicity, visibility and consistency are three of the most important factors. It is amazing though how often these principles are ignored, which ends up resulting in many businesses over-complicating and distorting their brand strategy, leading to a reduction in sales and delivering confused messages.
When exploring this topic, we came across this really useful infographic by US firm Webs which we thought we’d share. In it are some powerful ways to ensure your branding is effective and the strategy behind it is widely and successfully deployed.
Please click to enlarge
What have you found to be the keys to branding your small business successfully?
We’d love to get your feedback.