The Benefits Of Small Business Branding

What do you think of when you think of a brand?

If that immediately makes you think of big name companies — things like Apple, McDonald’s, or Starbucks — you’re not thinking of it the right way.

According to the Business Dictionary, a brand is, in part…

“Unique design, sign, symbol, words, or a combination of these, employed in creating an image that identifies a product and differentiates it from its competitors.”

Does that sound like something that only big companies need?

In truth, all businesses can benefit from strong branding, no matter what the size.

But when you’re a small business, it can be hard to really wrap your head around what a brand means to you, and how you need it.

This is where we come in.

We work with plenty of small businesses, and we know the importance of small business branding.

Here are just a few benefits that you can get from it.

Branding helps you manage your reputation.

The first step in understanding why small business branding is important to you is changing the way you think about branding in general.

’99-Designs’ experts, for example, suggests that you replace the word “brand” with “reputation.”

By doing that, you more clearly understand what branding can do for you.

By focusing on your brand, you take control of your reputation.

You can help shape the message and discussion around your company, turning it from something vague and forgettable to something that resonates deeply with people.

If you don’t do this, then your reputation is only what people say about you, and nothing more.

This can be dangerous, because a lot of the time, people will only talk about you when they have bad things to say.

It’s simply human nature.

Think of the last time you went out of your way to leave a nice review!

But by having a strong brand, you can take control of that talk and turn it into something positive.

You do this by not only putting out your own message but also by engaging people and encouraging those who were happy with your service to talk about you.

This leads us into our next point …

A brand turns you from a faceless entity to a relatable presence.

The reason that most people don’t talk about a company unless they have something bad to say is simple: they don’t relate to the company.

A company that simply provides a service is seen as little more than a machine by most consumers of today.

They don’t really consider that their positive reviews can have an effect on it because of that.

When you have a strong brand presence, however, that changes.

Suddenly, you aren’t just a machine.

You’re almost like a friend — you have personality.

And that makes you relatable to consumers.

This makes them want to help you out.

If your brand is personable, they’ll treat you like a friend.

And that means that they’ll be more willing to help you out by spreading the word about how much they like you.

It also makes them more likely to share your promotions on a practical level.

Brand voice lets you put a fun spin on what would otherwise be boring promotions.

And that means more people will want to share them, especially on social media.

Small business branding lets you put a fun spin on things, making you more relatable to your potential audience.

You learn new things when developing your brand.

When you’re developing your brand, there are a lot of things you need to consider.

You’ll need to ask yourself questions like:

• How do I want to be seen by my audience?
• What is my company’s mission?
• What are our values?
• What is our culture?
• What do we pride ourselves on?
• How did we start?
• How have we changed over the years?
• How do we approach work?
• Do we focus on professional or fun?
• Why are we in the business?
• What do we want to leave our customers with?
• If we could pick how our customers described us, what would we want them to say?

A lot of these questions are probably things that you’ve never even considered — at least not consciously.

But knowing these things can drastically change the way you approach your work.

Suddenly, your business isn’t just about selling a product.

There’s a deeper meaning — a mission for you to complete.

By developing your brand, you get to discover new things about your company, which could lead to you being more energized and invigorated.

By discovering your brand, you discover what your company really stands for.

And that’s important, whether you’re a small business or a large one.

A small business brand makes you stand out.

This was stated in the definition at the beginning of the article, but it’s so important, we want to say it twice.

In today’s landscape, the noise is deafening.

The typical user scrolls between 201 and 257 times per day — and that’s an estimate that’s based on switching from one page to another!

Most people do small, little scrolls as they go through social media. 

And as they do that, a boring or unmemorable post is likely to go right under their radar.

Think of how you scroll through Twitter or Instagram.

What are the things that catch your eye the most?

Chances are they’re the visual, bright things.

Or the interesting content.

Either way, having a brand is key to having this be part of your strategy.

Part of small business branding is creating that visual content that sticks so well with potential consumers.

Something as simple as having a logo can turn you from an ignorable company to an interesting one.

With today’s saturated landscape, you need all the help you can get when it comes to getting your voice heard.

Having a professional to help you craft the perfect brand is essential when it comes to navigating this landscape.

Branding gets results.

As you’re reading this, you might be thinking: all of this sounds great, but where’s the proof?

The truth is, most companies that do take the time to focus on the brand will see results that they never thought possible!

For example: Our client PDX Pest Control wound up seeing a 378% lead when they used our services to help build up their small business branding!

And that isn’t all.

If you listen to the testimonials from other small businesses, you’ll find time and time again that focusing on their branding gave them results that they didn’t even dream were possible.

It’s time for you to get those results, too.

No matter how much or how little you focus on branding, chances are good that you will see improved engagement and similar things.

But it takes a professional to turn that engagement into quantifiable results that lead to more business for you.

That’s why, when you work on your small business branding, it’s important that you don’t try doing it on your own.

Some of the first steps — like figuring out your mission — can be done alone, but at the end of they day, you’re going to want a professional to help you develop it.

Branding is easier and more affordable than ever.

Back in the day, branding was more of a hassle.

It involved a lot of back and forth with media.

A lot of money spent on television commercials, and a lot of work to try and get the data back that helped you to make your plan better.

These days, social media has completely shaken up the landscape.

Getting your message out there — and getting feedback on the effectiveness of your message — is easier than ever.

With social media, you get to entirely cut out the middle man and connect with your audience on a personal, one-on-one level.

Of course, with great power comes great responsibility.

If you’re not the best communicator, this direct line might seem a bit frightening.

But if you hire a professional, we’ll be sure to help you craft your message and make it perfect.

Small business branding lets you connect in a world where everyone’s connected.

There really isn’t enough that we can say about what a great time this is for brand marketing.

The industry is seeing new and exciting changes that make it easier for brands to connect every day.

Come be part of those changes. Work on your branding now.

Interested in small business branding?

You’ve heard us talk about small business branding.

Now it’s time to start.

A great way to get your brand out there is through Facebook Ads.

These days, you really do have to pay if you want to get anything out of Facebook.

Luckily, we’re here to help you out with them.

We’ll help you put out the perfect Facebook ad that will help all the hard work you’ve done get out there.

If you’re interested in our services, we’d love to talk to you.

Come schedule an appointment with us today!

We can’t wait to hear from you.