Branding isn’t just a fancy logo you create or the tagline you slap onto your print materials. It’s everything your company says, does, and expresses, sometimes without realizing it.
Your small business branding includes the words you use on social media and the way you treat your customers. It’s also the visual elements you include in your store, on your website, and in your print materials.
Why does your small business branding matter? It tells potential customers what you’re about and helps them decide if they want to do business with you. Solid branding can make your small company more memorable.
Consistent branding can also help your bottom line. A consistent image can give businesses up to a 23% increase in revenue.
Follow these steps to help you create your small business branding.
Define Your Identity
What key message or identity do you want customers to receive when they interact with your company? Are you casual, environmentally friendly, community-minded, cutting edge, technologically savvy? Defining your identity helps you shape your branding to send that message more clearly.
Think about your company’s mission and values to define your identity. Consider the impact that you want to make in your industry and in the lives of your customers. Then translate that into keywords and ideas that you can use in your branding.
Keep what makes you different in mind as you develop your brand identity. Do you use new technology that your competitors don’t? Do you offer a personalized experience that’s different for each customer?
Authenticity is important when defining your identity. Don’t try to force something that doesn’t align with your business. For 91% of consumers, authenticity is something they want from businesses.
Explore Your Target Audience
The other part of the branding is what your customers want and expect to see. You should already know the details of your target audience. If you haven’t, consider creating a target customer persona to clarify.
Think about the age, income, education, and gender of your target audience. Consider their needs and desires, especially as related to your business.
Use that information to determine what type of branding they want to see. If you’re targeting Fortune 500 executives, they’ll likely expect a more professional message. That’s a completely different message than you want to send if your target audience is millennials who want to live as digital nomads or overworked moms who need a break.
Visualize Your Identity
Use your key messages and target audience preferences to turn your branding into a visual message. Everything from colors and fonts to the images and symbols you use creates the image of your business. Choose elements that help express the heart and identity of your business.
The visual representations of your branding can go onto all print materials, decorations, signage, and other promotional materials you create. Design a business card using the colors, fonts, and logos that fit your branding. Use the colors and design elements when decorating your physical space.
Nail Small Business Branding
What message are you sending potential clients? Working on your small business branding creates a cohesive message and can help you perform better.
Once you get your small business branding on point, check out the rest of our articles on starting and growing your business for more advice.