What
Is Branding and What Does It Mean for Your Small Business?
(By:
Laura Evans)
What
is branding? When some people think of product branding, they think
of, say, the name of a cereal and the character associated with the
product, or they think of a company’s name and its associated logo.
These are, in fact, both characteristics of branding. However, there is
much more to branding. Understanding what corporate branding is can help
you refine how you present your business to the public.
How
do you stand out?
In a broad sense, branding is the image, perhaps visual or verbal, that
you want the public to remember about your business over time. In a
narrower sense, branding is the message that you want to communicate
about the uniqueness of your product or service that sets you apart from
your competition.
Who
wants your product?
In order to develop a successful brand, you have to know the
demographics of your target market. This means doing some marketing
research so that you can understand who your buyers are. This type of
research will help you develop a logo, your product or service’s name
and, if you choose, a slogan. All of these may be different, if, for
example, a primary part of your target market is single men between
twenty-one and twenty-five years old versus a target market with
primaries of married women between thirty and forty.
How
does your behavior affect your brand?
Understanding branding can also affect how you conduct your business on
a daily basis. For example, part of your brand involves how you
communicate with the public. Every time that you speak or see someone,
you leave an impression. Obviously, you would like that impression to be
as positive as possible. Part of your image, and part of your brand, is
how the public perceives you and your employees as “personas”
representing your business.
What
actions can boost your brand?
As a small business, you have many tools available to you to help you
develop your brand. For example, you can send out a newsletter or e-mail
newsletter containing interesting and informative information regarding
developments in your industry or “how to” tips. You can write a blog
on your Web site or participate in a business-related social network.
You might want to work with nearby charities or schools if your business
is locally based.
Branding
is important to any business, large or small. With all of the
competition that exists today, branding can help your business bring in
new customers and remind repeat customers that you have always taken
care of them in the past
What
Impression Are You Making With Your Branding Image? |