Archive for the ‘Branding’ Category

I recently posted my explanation of branding for small business. In essence, everything that comes in contact with customers is part of your brand. In this post, I wanted to share 10 random things that you can look at and improve as part of your brand.

1. Your vehicle.

Its not so much the car you drive that matters, so this is not an excuse to go out an buy a Mercedes. Its actually better to have a vehicle that is similar to that of most of your customers. That being said, you should make sure that you keep all of your company vehicles clean and well maintained. Drive up in a dirty, rusty, car and what is that saying about your business?

Also, your company vehicles are a great way to advertise. If you don’t have some nice graphics on your vehicles with a call to action and your web site and toll free number, you are losing out on a golden branding opportunity.

2. Your envelopes.

You can use plain white envelopes if you want, but why not get some envelopes printed with your logo and company name and address. Add some visual interest with graphics. And, of course, work your web site into it.

3. Your web site.

Okay, maybe you have considered this. But I have been looking at a lot of small business web sites lately (for my web design business), and most of them are woefully under performing. It is not that expensive to give your web site an updated look and to make it easier to navigate. Since more people are searching online, this is something you can’t ignore.

4. How you answer the phone.

You should think about this. Everyone should know how they are expected to answer the phone. It is a good idea to answer the phone by saying your name and your business name, but don’t forget to say hello. Of course, your brand may call for some different, and creative, ways of answering.

5. Your building.

You don’t have to go out and buy a new building. But you can clean and paint the outside. You can rearrange and fix up the interior. Make you building inviting and decent looking.

6. Your sign.

Investing a little money in an interesting sign can be a great move. The biggest thing is that it should grab attention and it should be readable. Beyond that, design it so it fits your brand. Is your business fun? Make a fun sign. Do you have special offers regularly? Get a sign that you can add custom messages to. Is your business fading and failing? Have an old sign with peeling paint.

7. Your ad.

Not all businesses take out ads in the newspaper. But if you do, do so with panache. How does your ad stand out from every other ad? I suggest hiring a designer to make you an ad that really pops. If you are going to spend money advertising, you want it to have the biggest impact possible. If your ad looks like every other ad, how is that building your brand?

8. Your sales efforts.

How you go about getting sales is indeed a big part of your brand. If you are always spamming and cold calling, that will hurt your reputation. If you are constantly providing educational opportunities and drawing customers in “with honey”, you will help your brand. Train sales reps to be kind, caring, and giving. Build marketing systems that attract and help people.

I think every business should include an educational component into sales efforts. This can come in the form of a blog, newsletter, webinars, seminars, or even workshops. Sales materials can inform as well as sell. The free painting workshops I see at hardware stores come to mind. What a great way to bring in customers. At the same time, your brand gets some positive buzz.

9. Online directories.

Whether you know it or not, your web site is listed on many online business directories and review sites. There are some big players here, such as Google Local and Yelp. But there are also a ton of smaller players. You should give at least some attention to these sites. Most allow you to make changes to your listing. Some let you post information about your hours and to post coupons. Some will even allow you to interact with customers who post reviews.

To find these sites, just search for you business name and go down the list. You’ll find them. Focus on the top result and work your way down. If you find sites that allow for customer reviews, start sending the links for those sites to your favorite customers and ask them to do you a solid and post a nice review.

10. Your hairdo.

I’m only half kidding here. You can wear your hair any way you want. But it is relatively important to keep up with the times. This is goes for everything. Are you still using fax when most of your customers prefer email? Keep current with technology, business practices, and sure, style. You don’t want to be the business that is left behind.

Can you think of any other brand points? Share your thoughts below.

Branding has always been a term that is a little mystifying to me. I always thought of it as a big corporate thing. But branding is important for small business as well. In simple terms, branding is putting your stamp on things. The purpose of building a brand is to be memorable to prospective customers. You want your business to become a destination that a customer arrives at. Customers should look forward to doing business with you and should anticipate good things. If you have a strong brand, they will.

Here, I would like to try to demystify branding. For a small business, your brand isn’t your logo. Your brand is every connection between your business and your customer. Here is a list of a few things that are your brand.

Your brand is …

• Employees
• Hold music
• Letterhead
• Web Site
• Vehicles
• Building
• Clothing
• Ads
• Product

Down to the Paper

If you start to think of everything as your brand, what could you improve? Perhaps the best example is your paper. When you send a letter, a proposal, or a contract to your customer, is it printed on cheap copy paper or something of a nicer grade? If you think of everything as your brand, maybe you will want to spend a few extra bucks on your paper.

The point is, what message do you want to get across to your customers? To return to my paper example, if your big push is to show that you are environmentally conscious, maybe you forgo paper completely. Everything, down to the smallest detail, should work together to communicate your message.

What is Your Message?

So branding is pretty simple. What do you want customers to think about your business? Once you figure that out, do an inventory of every single point of contact between your business and your customers. Change and improve things so that there is a consistent message across the board. If you have employees that interact with customers, put a lot of your effort there, as that is the biggest area of impact. But don’t ignore the small things. They add up and they matter.

–

Hi, I’m Bradford Shimp, the publisher of All Business Answers. If you have a business question, email or tweet it and I’ll try to answer it here. If you are looking for a Wordpress web site and/or training, visit my business site: BroadRiverCreative.com.

photo credit: zlakfoto

I recently talked to Isha Edwards of EPiC MEASURES about her business and how she helps build brands. Here is the conversation:

Bradford Shimp: Tell me a little about your business.

Isha Edwards: EPiC MEASURES (EM) is a brand-driven company, which offers a next practices approach to establishing and operating a business. Extending beyond the ordinary in purpose, promise and presentation, EM seeks to increase the profitability of individuals as well as organizations through four core services:

·        Marketing Strategy

·        Brand Management

·        Business Communications

·        Leadership Training (Seminars & Workshops)

BS: Why did you decide to get into this business?

IE: EM was established to meet an on-going demand from individuals with business communications needs. Also because of demand, services expanded to include brand-driven business consulting and leadership training for individuals and organizations.

BS: What roadblocks or delays did you run into when starting your business?

IE: Since the goal was to launch debt-free, test the business concept, and weigh market demands against sustainability, EM was soft-launched or rolled out in phases over a four-year period. This strategy limited roadblocks that would normally affect the company if it were launched “in full.”

BS: Define “brand” in terms of small business. I think many small business owners put little thought into creating a brand.

IE: A brand is a unique symbol, name, sound or identifying mark, which represents a product, an individual or organization’s story. This distinct story along with purpose and experience are what physically and emotionally engage consumers with a good or service.

Small businesses tend to focus primarily on the A part of the brand definition. Imaging, collateral materials and Web sites are created without much thought about the story or experience behind the logo.

When it comes to creating a brand, small business owners should “begin with the end in mind”. The process of creating a brand from beginning to end prior to launch will help solidify the story and the experience for customers.

BS: How can a strong brand help a small business?

IE: A well defined or established brand is a company’s most valuable, intangible asset. In addition to providing a competitive advantage, a well established brand helps to maximize earnings.

BS: If a small business has little to no money to spend on marketing, what are the best free/low cost marketing options?

IE: Word-of-mouth campaigns, volunteering service or providing product samples to prospective customers are low-cost ways to garner visibility. Find out what schools or organizations offer classes, seminars or events related to your product and target audience. Participating in events, joining organizations or in some way “hanging out” where potential customers hang out, writing or commenting on blogs are other options.

If you prefer to use social networking, then network within groups that are directly and indirectly related to your product. If you really want to stand out, purchase branded paraphernalia. Select a high-traffic day, time and location to regularly service your community with your product (doing so for 30, 60 or 90 days is ideal). Have flyers, Web site link or business cards on hand. The key is to build awareness in your natural element in a meaningful way (versus product push).

BS: Why should a small business spend money on a marketing/branding expert?

IE: Marketers are typically hired to focus on promotions and sales. An enterprising marketer or brand expert will consider product, price, placement and promotion when strategizing. They will also determine where brand value resides and align business operations with marketing strategy to retain value.

BS: How is social media, such as Twitter and Facebook, changing marketing?

IE: Social media levels the playing field between big and small business; new and established brands. Social media provides direct, inexpensive access to customers’ personal space (Facebook) and has the potential to build business credibility and awareness (Twitter) same as traditional media except exponentially.

BS: How would you convince a business owner to spend money on marketing/branding?

IS: Focusing on a business owner’s vision, mission, short and long-term goals yields a high conversion rate. When presented with a comprehensive strategy that makes the most effective use of time, money and resources and ensures set goals are met, business owners easily comply.

BS: What is your best advice for a small business owner who wants to commit more time and or money to marketing?

IE: Select three platforms to promote your product. Evaluate the results from those efforts. Replace efforts that yield low or little results. Relevancy is key as is being able to adapt early. Joining the bandwagon simply because everyone else is doing so is a sure-fire way to lose time and money plus limit results. Your strategy should be to remain ahead of each curve, which is where the greatest value lies and unique brands thrive.

–

Thanks to Isha Edwards for participating in this interview. You can learn more about EPiC MEASURES at www.epicmeasures.com.

Bradford Shimp helps small businesses with web design and online presence management at BroadRiverCreative.com.