Branding a business isn’t just about creating a logo and choosing a color scheme. Branding encompasses a wide range of marketing, design, and story-telling tools that allows your customer to connect with the product or service that you are selling.
Whatever your small business may be, it’s important to brand your services or product and increase visibility in order to draw in customers. When a small business has an appealing and recognizable brand, it becomes easier for customers to find your services and connect with the message you are trying to express.
Here are seven ways that you can brand your small business and increase visibility within a crowded market.
Do Your Research
Before you can start branding your small business, you’ll need to evaluate the competition. Who are your direct competitors? Who are your indirect competitors? Look at how they are branding themselves and brainstorm innovative ideas to stand out from the crowd.
Define Your Brand Story
Behind every great brand is an even better brand story. Once you know what this is, you can use this as the basis of your marketing strategy. Be as transparent and authentic as possible. This is what will draw customers to your brand.
Define Your Ideal Customer
Another essential aspect of branding is defining your ideal customer. If your branding isn’t tailored towards your ideal customer, how will they ever get to know about your brand and relate to it? Consider their current habits, their goals, and their needs.
Create a Unique and Memorable Logo
A unique logo will help your brand instantly stand out and increase visibility. Don’t over complicate things, keep the design simple. Make sure to create a scalable and long-lasting design that conveys your band message. Color schemes are also an important part of creating a memorable logo.
Share Your Brand Wherever Possible
Once you’ve got the basics covered, it’s time for the fun part, getting your brand out there. You can be as creative as you’d like. You could invest in some embroidery machines and make your own brand merch to sell to your customers.
Create ‘Shareable’ Content
Utilize your resources to the fullest. Social media is an excellent place to increase brand visibility. Create content that customers can relate to and share. It’s basically free advertising! Don’t forget to visibly highlight your brand and logo in the content you create.
Consistency is Key
Finally, if you expect your customers to recognize your brand, you’ll need to keep it consistent. Make sure the branding, marketing, and product or service is all cohesive.
If you’re new to the world of business and you’re not sure where to start with your branding, don’t worry, even the biggest brands have to start somewhere. Take things slowly and figure out your design process step by step.
The most important question you can ask yourself is, what are you trying to convey with your brand? Everything else will follow. All you need is some imagination, patience, and plenty of determination.
Featured image: Unsplash (BedBible).
