It’s at 12 P.M. on a Wednesday.
You’re in your office, working.
You have a small business. Your business has a good amount of customers. You are happy with the way business is going. However, you feel that your business needs “Branding”.
You have heard the word about a million times but don’t really know what that is. That night, you meet with your friend Brian and speak to him about Branding. He says, “Oh your business doesn’t need Branding. It is useless for the industry that you’re in. It is time-consuming. And besides, it could be expensive too.” So what does Branding mean? Is it necessary or expensive to do? Does your business need branding?
Before we get into Branding, let’s start with “Brand”. Brand means any logo, design, symbol, or tagline that distinguishes your product or service from the others. And usually, over a certain period, your customers create a mental image of your brand. Certain values are associated with your brand. The process through which this is done is called “Branding”.
There are certain misconceptions or doubts that people have about Branding. Let us clear those for you.
• I have a small business. Do I still need Branding?
Yes, you do. It does not matter if you have a small business or a big one, every business needs Branding. Branding creates a good impression of your business in the minds of the people. Do you not want your customers to have that good impression of your business? And with Social Media at your disposal, your brand is going to be seen by the world and this just opens up your business to a whole new set of potential customers.
• Is Branding expensive to do?
It does not have to be expensive. Use these tips to get started -
You can easily create a logo for your business with websites like Tailorbrands.com. You can have a logo for your business in about 5 minutes.
You can create a blog section on your website and try to provide as much information and value through your blogs.
You could have promotional content made like T-shirts and coffee mugs made with your brand name on them.
• Is branding time-consuming?
Honestly speaking, it does not have to be. Look for people in your business who could take up the task of branding. If not, then you could hire professionals to do it for you. Keep in mind that this process is crucial for your business and it is better to get it done by someone with professional experience.
Now that you know Branding is essential for your business, here are a few benefits of Branding,
Brand Recognition and Loyal Customers
• Increase in goodwill over a period of time
Customers are bound to buy your products if they trust you as a brand. This trust will develop over time. Your business logo or design or a tagline associated with your brand are the things that will make them buy your product or service.
• Branding helps with new launches of products & services
Your brand name will help you with all your products or services especially when launching a new product or service. Customers will automatically trust your “new” product even if they haven’t used it simply because they trust your brand.
• Brand Equity
Brand equity means the commercial value that your brand gets from the value that the customer sees in your brand and not directly from the products or services themselves.
You can charge more for your product or service than your competitors and customers will pay that price because they see value in your product or service.
• Better Product Positioning
Product Positioning is used by marketers to decide what would be the best way to display their products or services in the best way possible to their different target audiences. When customers see your brand in a good light and trust it, they feel that your brand would be beneficial for them. We aren’t even talking about your product or service in this case as it is pretty obvious that they will go for it since they trust your brand so much. Your business has a strong advantage over competitors because of which you are in pole position to be the industry leader.
Branding is an important aspect of Marketing and is necessary for your business whatsoever. For a small business, just providing products or services at cheap prices is a good strategy but it won’t get you too far. Customers need to have a good feeling about your business and Branding is the way you can achieve it. Think about it, even you buy products or services because you know a brand well or because you trust it and feel that it would be the best choice for you. After all, all of us are customers, aren’t we?
