No matter the size of your business, branding should always be one of your top priorities. That is from the day you open up for the first time until the day you close for good. That said, you may be new to the small business world and wonder how best to get your company’s message out to consumers.
Developing a cohesive message and knowing how and when to deliver it to the buying public is key. In doing so, you stand a much better chance of connecting with consumers. So, why should you be obsessed over the importance of branding in marketing? We’ll answer that question and further discuss why branding is so important.
What are you doing when it comes to branding?
Whether you’ve had your business for years or are the new kid on the block, it is critical that consumers hear and see you. The failure to get your brand’s message out to the public can mean several things.
These include:
- Too few consumers knowing who you are and how your brand can benefit their lives.
- Getting lost in the shuffle with all the brands out there vying for attention and revenue.
- Seeing your competition taking advantage of your lack of branding.
Knowing failure is not an option, look at what it is going to take to have your brand stand out from the competition. For starters, define your brand’s mission statement. It does not have to be a long one. That said, it does need to tell people what your business is about and why your products and/or services are worth their time.
You are also going to need a business logo. Whether you have been in business for a while now and have a logo or are starting out, make sure the logo is catchy to the eye. To avoid conflict with another business, your logo must be unique.
If you decide to rework your logo, know that time, effort, and money will be necessary to get the job done. That is why it makes sense to find a logo you like before you open for business and avoid having to redo it.
Socializing the branding experience
How social you get with consumers can go a long way in determining how successful your brand is going to be. While there are successful brands without a website, social media, and an app, they are few and far between. Having all those things makes a big difference in how much of a connection you will have with the public. When it comes to social media, being active on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, etc. is a good thing.
Speaking of social media activity, be consistent with your posts. It is important to regularly post so that more consumers become aware of your brand. Also, engage consumers and respond to legitimate questions or concerns about your brand.
As important as social media proves to be, how about an online store for your brand? If you do not have foot traffic, an online store is all but a necessity. Should you have an online store or look to add one, be sure it’s worthwhile to consumers. The store must be easy to navigate on one’s computer or smartphone.
It needs to have a smooth checkout process. It frustrates a consumer to shop online, only to get to the checkout and there is a problem. Make sure you have visible contact information with your online store should customers have questions or problems.
Will branding be done in-house or outsourced?
Depending on the size of your business and the finances you have, you may or may not do all your branding in-house. If you decide to do all the branding in-house, make sure you know what you are doing. That is when it comes to email blasts and text alerts, social media, being active in your community, and so on. In the event you are not a branding expert, have one or more people on your team with that critical experience. In the event that you go outside for your branding needs, hire pros with knowledge in marketing brands.
Make sure you ask for and review examples of their work. Finding branding examples for businesses like yours is always a good thing. Also, make it known that you want the final say on any branding messages before they go out to consumers.
What is your brand’s online reputation?
Okay, you’ve gotten this far and you may be thinking that is a lot of work to have to deal with in why branding is so important. Yes, being a business owner is more than simply making sales and taking in revenue. It is also more than overseeing employees if you have them, juggling expenses, and so on.
One of the major responsibilities you have with your brand is what kind of online reputation it has. Before the Internet, most business owners only worried about the occasional unhappy customer telling a family member or friend via word-of-mouth they were not happy with one’s products or customer service.
In today’s business world and with the information highway, you can’t afford to have a bad online reputation. Unhappy customers can use social media chatter, post bad reviews of a brand on its website, and so on, to tarnish one’s business reputation. If left unchecked, those reviews can be quite damaging to a brand’s reputation in general. So, doing some periodic checks of your brand’s online reputation is never a waste of time.
Making sure that your brand is seen as a positive among most consumers is key to you staying in business. In looking at your company’s branding efforts, how obsessed are you?
